The Legacy of a Hero Part One: Genesis
by Mritha
Summary: Everyone knows about the hero from FalconReach, but no one knows her story, until now.  This is a story I wrote about my main character from DragonFable, before she became the famed Hero of FalconReach.  Rated T for mild violence and language, enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **I wrote this purely for fun and decided to post it here. This is my first story and I'm still figuring out how to work things on this site so bear with me. :)

**The Legacy of a Hero**

**Part One: Genesis**

**Chapter One**

A raven haired girl bounded down the stairs to her house and ran to the forest that was her backyard. Her violet eyes scanned the shadows for danger as she leapt over a fallen log. She wore a black hooded cloak that fluttered behind her like the wings of a dark bird and came to a stop beside a bubbling brook, panting hard. Her parents warned her about coming this far from the town she lived in, the Darkwolf bandits thrived in these woods, but she was fearless and stubborn. Still, she clutched the hidden dagger on her belt. She knelt beside the stream and watched the water bubble around the rocks. Her parents were fighting again. She knew it was because of her, the strange looks they gave her, almost as if they were afraid of her. "All I did was defend my best friend." She whispered as tears began to flow down her face.

Matt was 18 years old and the gang leader at school. _The Dried Blood _they called themselves. They were well known throughout town for causing trouble, beating up little kids and breaking windows. Though it was unproven, she knew they were also responsible for burning down the barn and killing her baby sister who was inside playing at the time and was trapped inside by the flames. They had been tormenting her best friend, Mithria both giving her a black eye so severe it later was swollen shut and then pushed her in the mud laughing, knowing that her mom would spank her for getting her dress dirty. Just thinking about that filled the black haired girl with anger. She remembered what happened next.

_*Flashback*_

As Mithria sat crying in the mud holding her eye, the black haired girl attacked Matt. She tackled him, biting his shoulder as they hit the ground. He cried out in pain and anger and threw her off of him. When she regained her footing, she looked up to see him charging her. She braced herself and when Matt was upon her, she punched him in the face with all her might, which normally wasn't much, but her anger made her so powerful that the teenager did a half flip in the air and landed flat on his back, blood pouring from his nose. Pain laced up the girl's arm and she looked down at her hand. It was covered in blood and not all of it belonged to Matt. At least two of her fingers were broken, and maybe her wrist as well. She shook off the pain and crouched, anticipating the next attack that was sure to come.

Her foe slowly rose to his feet, his eyes burning in hatred. He narrowed his eyes and nodded. Confused, she glanced around and only then did she realize that this was no longer a private fight. The entire schoolyard had gathered around to watch, but that was not all. Matt's followers had come to his aid. She was surrounded. Her anger was quickly replaced with a cold fear, there was no escape from this battle, and she knew she could not win against so many.

Using her peripheral vision, she counted seven of them. She dared not turn around to count the ones behind her; she knew as soon as she took her eyes off the leader, they would attack. She tried to remember how many in all there were in the Dried Blood gang, but the more she tried to retrieve this information from her mind, the more elusive it became.

"You are weak girly!" he sneered. "You are so worthless your own parents didn't bother to name you, that's why you don't have one!" He laughed. As if on cue, the rest of the gang followed suit. Surrounded by laughter and fearing what he said was true; a few tears began to roll down her face. "Aww, are you going to cry now?" He laughed "Cry baby! Cry baby!" He chanted, the others joining in. "Cry baby! Cry baby!" The voices swam around her making her head spin. "Cry baby! Cry baby!" "SHUT UP!" She screamed. Her left hand became engulfed in dark energy, and with a mighty throw, it raced from her fist and hit the teenager center mass, killing him instantly.

Her anger burned like a thing alive, and she felt a dark satisfaction in seeing her foe cut down by her own doing. "GET HER!" Someone yelled. The others charged her, the circle they had enclosed her in becoming rapidly smaller. But time seemed to slow for the girl, she was fully aware of every step they took, of every breath. Every heartbeat. _Five of them. _ She thought to herself, referring to the before unknown number of the enemies behind her. _Five plus seven minus one is eleven enemies left, I have about 1.2 seconds before they reach me. _She reached down and touched the dirt with the tip of her fingers on her left hand, which still had wisps of dark energy running though her veins. As her fingertips lightly brushed against the grainy surface of the earth, a black shockwave rushed out to meet the onrushing foes that were almost upon her. They shot back and landed hard in the dust several feet away from her, each one of them dead before they hit the ground.

She stood up and looked around. The schoolyard was deathly quiet, no one said a word. It was only then that she realized what she had done. "I killed them." She whispered. Their deaths weighed upon her like a shoulders ton a bricks and she collapsed to her knees feeling sick. _What have I done?_

Suddenly, she heard clapping… and cheering? She opened her eyes to see what her ears already confirmed. Mithria ran to her side, blond curls bouncing on her shoulders as she hugged her savior with all her might. "You're my hero!" She said with a grin. "Hero? I could get used to that." The black haired girl said. She looked around to see all the other children laughing, jumping, and cheering for her. Despite her growing nausea, she couldn't help but smile.

Her other friend, Arya, rushed over with a big grin on her face. "That was so cool! Was that magic? You should be a mage when you grow up!" The words came out in a rush as Arya brushed her blue hair out of her face, sapphire eyes shining in excitement.

"What is going on?" a sharp voice called. Instantly, all the children scattered, leaving the three girls and the bodies alone to face their teacher. As the crowd cleared, the teacher looked around, her eyes widening in horror as she took it all in. "Matthew!" she cried as she ran to the lead bully's side. Belatedly, the three girls remembered that he was the teacher's son. "What happened here?" she yelled, glaring daggers at the three girls. Mithria spoke up. "He was hurting me down and she saved me." She answered as she grabbed her friend's arm. Her eye was already black and swollen shut. "I didn't mean to kill them, it was an accident." The black haired girl insisted. A tear rolled down her face as the feeling of nausea grew stronger. Arya placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, carefully avoiding her injured hand. "You _murdered _my SON!" The teacher screamed.

She marched over to the girls, grabbed the black haired girl by the arm and slapped her as hard as she could. The girl cried out as she felt her lip tear, blood seeping out of it as the teacher slapped her again and again. "Stop it! Leave her alone!" Arya yelled as she grabbed the teacher's hand to keep her from hitting her friend again. "You!' the teacher whirled on her. "Stay out of this!" The teacher jerked her hand away from Arya's grasp. While the teacher was distracted, the black haired girl twisted free and backed away several steps. The teacher turned to her, reaching out to grab her, but stumbled when Mithria latched on to one of her legs. The school teacher kicked her off with a mighty shove and continued towered the object of her anger. Still backing away, the black haired girl tripped over one if the bodies and fell on her backside. "Run!" Mithria called to her. She didn't have to be told twice. The girl ran into the forest and disappeared into the trees. Unable to contain the nausea any longer, she paused behind a large oak tree and emptied her stomach of its contents before running deeper into the forest. The teacher's moans seemed to taunt her as she ran. "My son, my beautiful son."

_*End Flashback*_

The girl sighed. That was three weeks ago and she was still the talk of the town. The adults feared and hated her, but the children loved her, they didn't have to look over their shoulders anymore out of fear of getting pounded. Looking back, the girl realized that it had always been this way with the adults. What she did weeks ago did not change the feelings toward her, they just strengthened them. For a brief moment she feared for her safety, scared that the adult would try to harm her, but she rid herself of such thoughts as she wiped away the tears from her eyes. "Grandmother won't let them hurt me." she told herself. It was true, her grandmother had always loved her, and she was the only one who ever understood what she was going through. "My little Violet." Her grandmother called her when no one was around. To have a name, was the most wonderful thing in all of Lore. She asked her parents why she didn't have a name like all the other children. Her father sent her to bed without supper for asking about things that were none of her business. When she asked her grandmother, the old woman flinched. "My little Violet, it was because they were afraid of you." "Why are they afraid of me?" She had asked. Her grandmother looked her in the eye and said, "Little Violet, it is because of what you will become." She placed her finger on the girl's lips, silencing the question that was about to be asked. "For your own protection, I cannot tell you now. But I promise you, that I will when you are ready to handle the truth." The girl was not content with that answer, but she trusted her grandmother, and kept silent.

The girl sighed. Suddenly, she could smell smoke. She raced to a nearby clearing to determine which direction the smoke was coming from. When she reached her destination, she turned toward the direction that her town lay. Black smoke filled the sky. "No!" She cried out as she raced toward her home. When she arrived, she stopped dead in her tracks. Thousands of undead soldiers were burning her town and killing its people. She snuck around the buildings, never leaving the shadows for fear of being seen. Finally, she made it to her house. Her father had been hung from the roof of her house, and her mother lay still nearby, arrows protruding from her back.

_I have to save grandmother! I won't leave her here to die!_ The girl climbed through a broken window to her home and looked around. On the living room floor, in a pool of her own blood, laid her grandmother. "No!" The girl cried out as she ran to her grandmother's side. The old woman moaned. _She isn't dead! _The girl thought excitedly. "My little Violet." The woman whispered. "Grandmother! I'm here; I'm going to save you just hang on!" The girl said. "It's too late for me now, here, I want you to have this." The old woman lifted a bloody hand to her neck and pulled at a chain, revealing a strange and beautiful amulet. "Here, take this, it is the key to your destiny." "What is it?" the girl asked her grandmother as she placed the amulet around her neck and tucked it into her shirt where it could not be seen. "It is a dragon amulet; it will allow you to bond with your very own dragon. You will be a Dragon Lord little Violet."

"A Dragon Lord? I don't think I can…" "It is your destiny." Her grandmother interrupted, "It is why…" The old woman coughed, blood coming out of her mouth. "Why you were never named. Your parents, the towns folk, they all feared who you are going to be, they think you are the Destroyer. They were afraid you were going to destroy Lore." The old woman took a deep, shaky breath before continuing. "You must find the dragon box; it contains your dragon egg. People will rise against you, but together you will overcome. You and your dragon will have the power to either save Lore, or destroy it. The choice is yours alone little Violet." I understand grandmother." The girl said as tears streamed down her face.

The old woman reached up with a hand stained in her own blood and wiped away the girl's tears. "No matter what you choose, I will always love you. Search for the one who gives you your name, she will lead you to your destiny." With those final words, the woman died in her granddaughter's arms. "Grandmother!" The girl screamed, knowing she might be heard but she didn't care. "Grandmother come back!" She cried.

The door behind her burst open and undead soldiers filled the room. The girl grabbed her dagger and killed one of the undead, then another. As she charged a third soldier, one of them grabbed her from behind and slammed her arm into the table, the dagger falling out of her grasp. Two undead grabbed one of her arms each, and half carried, half drug her outside. "ARRRROOOOOEEEEEE" said one of the undead as she was thrown at the feet of a tall man in blood red armor. "So this is the one?" He asked. The undead soldier nodded. "ARRRRROOOOOO?" It asked. "REMEMBER WHAT THE MASTER ORDERED SEPULCHURE?" A voice asked. The girl's eyes grew wide when she realized it was the man's blade who has said that. "I remember." The man, Sepulchure, replied. He lifted the talking blade and stabbed her in the stomach. With that, he turned and left, the undead soldiers following him and leaving her alone to die.

Two days later, the girl knelt beside her grandmother's grave. She couldn't find any shovels among the rubble of her town, so she had been piling large stones on top of her grandmother's body as her grave. The work was long and painful, but she managed. After Sepulchure and his soldiers left, she was able to use her newfound magic to heal, acting on instinct and using the power of the Dragon Amulet her grandmother gave her. Had it not been for that, she would have surely died. She lifted her shirt, stained in her own blood, and looked at the crude bandage around her middle. Dark red blots were seeping through; the color reminded her of Sepulchure's armor as she applied another healing spell and changed the bandage. Not used to using magic, and lacking the adrenalin rush that aided her when she fought the school bullies, even simple spells such as this were draining.

In her hands she held the dragon amulet as she looked around her. Death and destruction as far as she could see. Though she never found their bodies, she could only assume that her friends Arya and Mithria had died as well. "I will make him pay for doing this." She hissed through clenched teeth. "I swear on my grandmother's grave Sepulchure will pay."

**Author's Note: **Hmm…. I might have just left it open for a fight with Sepulture… I hope you guys liked it, please R&R and I will post chapter two soon, probably next Friday but maybe sooner. By the way, the girl is my main character in DragonFable so obviously the story is going to be centered around her. Mithria and Arya are my second and third characters and I left it open for them to maybe come back later in the story. What do you guys think?


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **Here's chapter two, enjoy!

**The Legacy of a Hero**

**Part One: Genesis**

**Chapter Two**

**6 Years Later**

The black haired girl, now a young woman of 17 walked through the forest with her friends Zeratie, Mark, and Lance. She had met them a year or so ago in a small town's inn, and over supper they talked about anything and everything. The four had became fast friends and traveled together ever since. She wore a black mages robe with dark purple trim and a black hooded cloak similar to the one she had as a child. Unlike most mages however, she did not own a staff. Instead she carried an enchanted black short sword with a purple hilt that allowed her to cast spells almost as easily as a staff would, preferring the freedom to both use spells and slash at her enemies. A "warrior mage" her friends called her.

Zeratie, the oldest of the group by several years, was a Darkwolf Bandit dropout. She had grown tired of following orders from "That fool Dracath" so after stealing a generous amount of gold from their hideout and placing the blame on another bandit, she left. She had shoulder length dark brown hair, piercing brown eyes and a small scar on her lip that you couldn't see unless she was smiling. Though classed as a rogue, she still wore her Darkwolf outfit, but ditched the helm long ago. Her daggers were made of a dark metal that did not shine in the light, so the blades would not be seen when she was "in stealth mode" as she called it. Both handles were wrapped in dark leather, worn with use like the sheaths that the two daggers were currently resting in around Zeratie's waist. Both daggers had been dipped in poison so that even the smallest cut from them would be fatal.

Mark was the warrior of the group. He wore the traditional silver armor, though it had long ago lost its shine. His sword had a silver blade with a gold hilt and pommel that matched his blond hair. He had baby blue eyes and twinkled when he laughed, in so many ways Mark reminded the black haired woman of her old friend Mritha. _She would have been a warrior. _ She woman thought sadly as she remembered her friend. To this day she did not know if Arya or Mritha had survived Sepulture's attack. _No, she would not have been just a warrior; she would have been a paladin. If any element best described Mritha's personality, it was light._

"Hey Violet! You're getting left behind!" Lance shouted. The dark haired woman looked up to see she had fallen behind her group of friends while reminiscing. "Sorry, I was just thinking." She said as she caught up with her friends. "That's never good." Lance said with a grin. She rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up." She shot back. He laughed as he dodged Violet's playful shove. The day she met her three companions they had first shared their names. When asked what her name was, the woman had blurted out the first thing that came to mind. Violet, the name her grandmother used to call her. After several months together she told her friends the truth, that she had no name. To her surprise, they thought it was cool, though they still called her Violet.

Lance moved so that Mark was walking in between him and Violet and grinned at her, knowing that Mark would break up any mock fights between the two. At 16 years, Lance was the youngest of the group. He had black hair, playful green eyes, and a fair amount of freckles splashed on his nose. Despite growing up in a ninja village and training to be one as soon as he could walk, Lance wanted to be a pirate. Upon leaning this, the village he grew up in had thrown him out, but this did not bother him as he was on his way to Osprey Cove to train as a pirate when he met Violet and others at the inn and decided to join them instead. Lance still wore the cloth armor of a ninja, and carried the traditional blade, daggers, and several hira-shurikens of the ninjas.

The four travelers approached the edge of the forest and paused to look out over a small town several miles east of Swordhaven. "Finally, my feet are killing me." Zeratie complained as she sat down on a nearby rock to massage her feet. "Do we have enough gold to buy some horses?" Violet asked, who was ready for a rest herself. "It would sure make traveling easier, and quicker." "Maybe." Mark answered. "But then we probably won't have enough to stay at the inn." "We have slept outside before." Lance offered. Mark frowned when he looked up at the darkening sky. Night was fast approaching, as were several rain clouds. "I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to sleep in the rain, besides, we are running low on food anyway." Zeratie said as she paused from her foot massage to glance at the sky. "Why don't we just get a room for tonight, and then see what our options are in the morning." Violet suggested "If we don't have enough gold to buy the horses, then I'm sure there are some quests we could do in the town to earn it." Mark nodded. "We'll do that."

A sudden booming thunder sent the foursome on a brisk walk to the town entrance, none of them in the mood to get wet. The houses and shops of this town were typical log cabin style with glass windowpanes and large wooden decks and porches. Zeratie led the group to a cabin with a sign of an overflowing mug hanging above the door, the universal symbol of an inn. _Wow, it looks bigger on the inside than it does on the outside._ Violet voiced her thoughts and received mummers of agreement from her party. Mark walked over to a green haired woman standing behind the counter to ask for room and board while the other three sat down at the nearest table. The room had wood paneling, flooring, and décor, though the walls were made of a lighter color of wood than the floor, and the furniture was a shade in between the two. Several chandeliers made of antlers with burning candles on them provided light. Overall this was a very nice inn; it wasn't the best they had stayed in but certainly not the worst. "I hope the beds don't have bugs in them like the last place did." Lance muttered. "I don't think they will." Mark answered as he pulled up a chair and sat down. "This place seems nice enough." Violet nodded in agreement.

"So what's the plan?" Zeratie asked. Mark opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by the green haired owner of the inn. Like most small town inns she was also the waitress. "Can I get you anything?" She asked, batting her eyes at Mark. Zeratie and Violet shared a knowing smile, Mark however seemed oblivious. "Yes actually, we would like four berry smoothies…" He looked around the table and receiving three nods he continued "And some chickencow burgers." "No ketchup on mine please." Lance added. Their waitress lingered at their table, staring at Mark. He looked back at her and raised his eyebrow in confusion, at which point she suddenly realized what she was doing and rushed off to prepare their order. Mark shook his head. "Female waitresses always seem to act strange." He commented. Violet and Zeratie burst into laughter. "What's so funny?" Mark demanded, but his only response was more laughter.

"Seriously, what are you laughing at?" Mark asked, still confused. "You." Violet and Zeratie said in union. "She is obviously flirting with you, how can you not see it?" Zeratie replied. Slowly, Mark understood. "So… all those girls… were flirting with me?" Violet nodded, and then feeling mischievous, she said. "Don't look now, but she is coming back." "Hide me!" Mark said as he dove under the table. Zeratie, Violet, and even Lance erupted into laughter at their friend's expense. "She isn't coming don't worry." Violet assured him. Mark crawled out from under the table and sat down, glaring his friend. "Ok, _now _she is coming back." Zeratie said looking over Mark's shoulder. He glanced behind him, and confirming Zeratie's remark he stood. "I need to use the bathroom, come on Lance." Lance looked up. "But I don't need…" "_Now._" Lance sighed. "Ok I'm coming." The two walked away as their waitress returned with their food. "Is he coming back?" She asked, looking at the door the two men had closed behind them. "Eventually." Violet answered. Zeratie hid her laugh in a cough at the waitress's confused expression.

"You are so mean." Zeratie said with a grin as the waitress left the room. "You have to admit that was funny." Violet laughed, Zeratie joining in. Behind them the door opened to reveal Lance, after looking around to make sure the waitress was not in the room, he turned to the door and said. "All clear." Mark rushed out, grabbed his food and said. "Come on, we're eating in our room." Before racing up the stairs that led to the bedrooms. "Our rooms are connected this time; she said there is a door in the adjoining wall to the rooms so we can see each other without going into the hallway." Mark said as he approached the third door on the left. "The girls sleep in there." He nodded toward the door on the right as he balanced his plate containing his chickencow burger on top of his mug so he could open the door. He stepped inside the room and held open the door as the others filed in. Lance came last and asked. "So who is this "she" that told you that, is it the cute waitress?" Mark scowled and stuck out his foot, tripping Lance who then struggled to regain his balance without spilling his drink. "Watch it!" Zeratie warned as the berry smoothie sloshed dangerously close to the edges of his mug.

Violet sat down on the floor and set her plate in her lap, for there wasn't a table in the room and she didn't want to risk spilling food on the beds. Zeratie and Mark sat down on either side of her, and Lance across. Once everyone was settled and eating, Zeratie repeated her question from earlier. "So what's the plan?" Mark took a sip of his drink before answering. "Tonight we rest here, and then in the morning we buy four horses if we can afford it. If not, we quest until we do." "And after that?" Lance asked. Mark fished around in his backpack and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. He smoothed it out and set it in the middle of their circle for all to look at.

"Apparently, some of Zeratie's old pals, the Darkwolf bandits, are causing trouble on the road between here and Swordhaven." "They are _not _my pals." Zeratie interrupted. Mark shrugged. "A lot of people and a lot of gold travel through here then." Violet commented. Mark nodded and said between bites "Yes, that's what attracted the bandits, they are attacking the travelers and stealing their gold. They are making some good money doing it too." "So we would get paid a large sum to stop them." Lance concluded as he took a bite of burger. "100,000 gold to be exact." Mark said calmly. Lance choked on his food at the mention of such a large amount of money, while Violet and Zeratie's head snapped up in shock. "You're kidding. There is no way they would pay that much." Zeratie said. Mark handed her the paper and said, "Read the small print, we only get paid that amount if we take out their camp based there and every bandit we see. The reward money was issued by the king himself; apparently many people have been killed from these attacks."

"Why give a reward for this, why not send knights to take care of the problem?" Lance asked. "Maybe it's because there are a lot of bounty hunters around lately, taking contracts on both King Alteon's subjects and followers of Sepulture. For security, Alteon needs to thin their numbers, but taking direct action against the bounty hunters may start a riot. It's happened before to kings past." Violet thought out loud. "So the king posted this knowing that every mercenary and bounty hunter would go after it and the numbers of both sides would be thinned." Lance mused. "He is killing two forest furies with one stone." Zeratie commented. "That still leaves the travelers getting robbed every day." Violet said accusingly. "The king posted guards along the road, though it isn't always enough it has helped. No one has died since then." Mark pointed out. Violet yawned. "I vote we all hit the sack, buy some horses tomorrow and go after the bandit's hideout, grab the gold and ride off into the sunset like they do in the campfire stories." "I'm in." "Agreed." "Sounds like a plan." The others said. Lance gathered the dirty dishes and headed downstairs while the girls went to their room.

_The next morning_

The four woke up early the next morning, paid for their stay, and started toward the bandit's camp just as the sun was making its appearance over the treetops. They had gone to the stables earlier to buy some horses and soon discovered that if they pooled their gold together they would have just enough to buy four good mounts. Than Lance pointed out that none of them knew how to fight on horseback, at which point the proceeded to the bandit's camp deciding to get the horses afterwards. Each was excited and raring to go, eager for the thrill of battle and looking forward to their paycheck. It took half the morning to reach the camp, and they stopped to rest in a small hidden cave a half mile from their destination. "What are we going to do when we get there? Attacking in broad daylight really isn't very smart." Zeratie commented as she sat near the entrance of the cave to keep watch. "I still think we should attack under the cover of night." "You know I can't fight in the dark Zeratie." Said Mark. "I could cast an invisibility spell on us." Violet offered.

Everyone turned to stare at her. "You can do that?" Lance asked is awe. At Violet's nod Zeratie asked "Why didn't you tell us? We could have used that to our advantage in our fights." "Until recently I couldn't, but I've been practicing magic while you guys were sleeping, I haven't been able to sleep well the past few weeks so I made myself useful." "The nightmares have returned haven't they?" Mark asked. Violet nodded and looked away. She used to be plagued with nightmares about her home but after she met her friends they went away. Recently though, they had come back with a vengeance. She trained herself in magic to avoid sleep, pushing herself to her limits until she was so exhausted would fall into a deep and dreamless sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

"What else can you do?" Zeratie asked. Violet raised her hand and a large black fire danced in her palm. Mark whistled. "Now that is cool." "I can also create a shield around myself, and I'm getting better at creating one around others, though I still need more practice with that one, at least with distance." "So the closer we are to you; the easier it is for you to shield us?" Lance asked and Violet nodded. "Yes, the farther away you are the more concentration it takes to cast and maintain the shield. It will last several seconds on its own, but it will ultimately fail if I lose concentration." "Note to self, stay near the warrior mage." Mark said with a grin.

"How long can you keep us invisible?" Zeratie asked. "As long as you stay close to me and I have enough mana potions, indefinitely." Violet answered. "Though I must warn you that people can still touch you when you are invisible. If you aren't careful to avoid them, people can and will run into you. I have been working on spells that will allow me to walk through objects, but I haven't mastered the technique yet." "I don't think that will be a problem." Mark said. "If everyone is ready, then Violet cast the spell and lets be on our way." The four got up and stood in a circle. "Everyone hold hands so we stay together, we will all be invisible to each other and besides, if I am touching you it takes less concentration and mana." Holding hands, Violet chanted the spell and they all disappeared. "Wow this is so cool!" Lance said. "Ok, let's go in a straight line, I will lead us to the bandit camp." Mark said.

The two men broke contact and Mark led them out of the cave, holding Violet's hand, followed by Zeratie and Lance bringing up the rear. They weaved through the trees making as little noise as possible. Several times they passed Darkwolf sentries and scouts, but they made no move to attack. They wanted to surprise the hideout and to attack any of the bandits now might alert the camp. They approached the gates and stood in front of the closed iron doors as they decided what to do next. "Do we attack now?" Violet whispered. "I think we should wait until we are inside then attack." Mark whispered back. "Why don't we take out the leader first, then move from there? The majority of the Darkwolf bandits are mindless fools, you take out the leader and the rest scatter. I would know." Whispered Zeratie. "I like her idea." Lance added. "Then it's decided, we slip in, kill the leader, then go from there." Mark whispered. Violet quietly said "When we get in there, it will be too crowded for us to stay together. Break apart and take the most direct route to the leader's tent, I will do my best to keep you invisible but be prepared for anything."

The gate opened to allow some bandits returning from a raid to enter and the four friends broke contact and slipped in behind them. They moved silently through the crowds, dodging people and things and moving as quickly as possible, each knowing that the spell could end at any moment. Reaching the tent Violet quietly called to her friends. "You guys here?" "I'm here." Mark answered. "Me too." Whispered Lance. "Zeratie are you here?" No answer. "Zeratie?" "I'm here, lets move." They slipped into the tent and Violet ended the spell. She reached into her backpack and pulled out her sword and a mana potion, the others readied their weapons and moved carefully around the tent looking for the leader. Violet quickly drank the potion before joining the others in their search. A flap leading to a separate room in the tent flew back and the leader jumped out. He swung his spiked mace at Lance who ducked and raised his katana to attack, but there as no need. The Darkwolf leader lay dead at his feet, killed by the poisoned daggers Zeratie wielded.

She nudged the body with her foot. "Wow, that was easy." She commented. "We still have to fight our way out." Violet warned. "If you need help yell "shield" and I will cast one around you." She said as they gathered around the tent entrance. "Everyone ready?" Mark asked. Receiving three nods he took a deep breath. "Let's do this."

The four jumped out of the tent with a wild yell, Mark swinging his sword like a madman, and Zeratie cutting down foes with her twin daggers. The other two hung back for a short moment, Lance throwing many of his hira-shuriken at the bandits, each one of them hitting their target while Violet cast several fire spells causing many of the surrounding tents and people to erupt in deadly black flames. Having gotten over their initial shock, hundreds of Darkwolf bandits came rushing at them from all directions. Without their leader to give directions and moral support, they would not be nearly as impossible to defeat, but even with that advantage it would still be difficult to come out unscathed. "Stay together!" Violet shouted as she cast a shield around the four, and they were soon encased in a protective blue bubble. They knew it would not last long, but it certainly helped. Spiked maces from the bandits banged against the shield as the four cut down all within range. Suddenly, she shield collapsed and the fighting grew more intense.

Violet parried attack after attack with the sword in her right hand, and cast fireballs and black lightning with her right. She stepped back to grant herself enough time to slam the point of her sword into the dirt, causing a shockwave to erupt and toss the surrounding foes back several yards and killing them before they hit the ground. Behind her, Zeratie laughed. "That never gets old." She said as the remaining bandits pressed on. For several minutes the four friends literally fought back to back just to survive, they were pressed so close their shoulder blades touched one another's. Although this made maneuvering a challenge, they were able to form an almost impenetrable defense.

Lance lunged forward to slice the throat of a Darkwolf enforcer, but was separated from his friends in the process. "Shield!" He called out as he tried in vain to cut his way back to them. Violet quickly chanted the spell and the comforting blue bubble rose up around her friend. Knowing that his life depended on it, she tried to focus on the shield surrounding Lance and fight the enemies in front of her, but was not easy. One enforcer took the opportunity to slam his mace into her shoulder, breaking bones and causing her to drop her sword and fall to her knees in pain. He lifted the mace for the killing blow but she cast an ice spell then a fire spell in quick succession, causing the enforcer to freeze into a big block of ice, then shatter when the fire hit it sending sharp splinters of ice in all directions, piercing all in its path. Fortunately, Violet managed to erect another shield around herself, Mark and Zeratie before the block of ice exploded, her two friends pausing for a quick respite as shards of ice bounced off of the shield. Violet grabbed her sword with her good arm and slammed the point into the ground, creating a shockwave that killed all but seven of the remaining bandits.

Lance rushed in and in three swift moves cut down the last of them. The four looked around at the camp and each other, trying to catch their breath. "That was intense." Mark panted. "Violet! You're bleeding!" Lance said as he rushed over to her. He helped her sit down as Zeratie dug through her backpack and handed Violet a health potion. Mark stood guard to make sure no more Darkwolf bandits were lurking around waiting to ambush. Violet eagerly drank the potion and watched in fascination as the broken bones and torn skin and muscle in her shoulder knitted itself together. Soon the skin looked as good as it did before, though the cloth on her robe was torn where the mace ripped through. _I can fix that later. _She thought. "Thanks guys." She said as she got to her feet. "Thank _you_ Violet!" Lance said with a grin. "If it wasn't for your shield when I got separated I would have been done for." "And you were awesome too Lance, I don't think you missed a shot with your hira-shuriken!" Zeratie said. "Don't forget Mark going into berserker mode, I almost felt sorry for the bandits that faced him!" Violet laughed. The others soon joined her, grateful that they had all come out in one piece. "Speaking of my hira-shuriken, could you guys help me gather those things? I used them all in the battle." Lance said as he bent down and pulled one from the neck of a Darkwolf scout. "You ran out? That's a first." Mark commented he bent over to help. "I know, but we have never been in a fight this big before." "That's true."

Zeratie and Violet cautiously looked around, making sure if there were any bandits left in the camp that they could not sneak up on them. It didn't take them long to gather the hira-shuriken, and they left the camp around midday and headed back to town for their reward. "Where do we get our gold?" Zeratie asked. "According to this..." Mark pulled out the same slip of paper he showed them the night before. "…we pick it up from the mayor in the town hall." "Don't they need proof that we did it?" Violet asked. Mark took a closer look at the paper. "It says here that the mayor will send someone to check it out. If the camp is destroyed we get the gold." "Oh good! That will give us time to buy the horses for better traveling." Lance said. "Speaking of that, where are we going next?" Asked Violet. "Wherever we want to!" Zeratie said with a big grin. "We will be able to afford it now, I could really get used to this bounty hunting business."

When they arrived back at the town, they split up. Mark went to talk to the mayor, Lance to buy the horses with what money they had left, Zeratie went to get their potions refilled, and Violet sat in the porch in front of the inn to fix her armor. Chanting a few spells, she slowly weaved the torn threads back together, and then used a cleansing spell to remove the various blood stains on her armor. By the time she finished, Mark had come and gone, saying that he was accompanying the party sent to investigate the bandit's hideout, and shortly after he left Zeratie came and sat down beside her, having refilled all of their potions.

The two chatted about their most recent battle until Lance approached leading four horses. Three were bays and one was all black. "It's a good thing we are about to get paid, we are flat broke after buying these guys." He said as he led them to where the women sat. "I got the black one for you Violet, he matches your hair." "Aww, thank you Lance." Violet said as she took the lead to her new horse from him. She rubbed his nose and asked "What is his name?" "Eternal BattleCry." Lance answered. _Strong name._ She thought to herself.

An hour or so later, Mark walked up with a huge grin on his face. "We just got paid!" He said excitedly as he handed each of them a bag of gold. "25k gold, wow I feel rich!" Zeratie said as she put her gold in her backpack. The others followed her lead and Violet asked. "So what next, grab another room in the inn?" Mark glanced up and quickly said, "Let's sleep under the start tonight." Everyone laughed as they mounted their horses and rode out of town.

That night the group of friends swapped stories around a campfire while eating supper. Most of them were funny memories; others were just made up tales that brought rounds of laughter. _Life is good. _Violet thought as she looked at each of her friends cracking jokes as the flames of the fire danced with the shadows of the night. _I trust these people with my life, they are the closest thing to family I have had in a long time. _A month ago she told them everything her Grandmother has said before she died, her friends had always been so open and trusting to her and she felt she was finally ready to trust them in return. She laughed at one of Mark's jokes then stifled a yawn. Deciding it was time for bed; the four young adventurers crawled under their blankets and went to sleep. Violet gazed up at the stars, and her last thoughts before drifting off to sleep were about how much she loved this group of friends, and how she would do absolutely anything for them.

Little did she know, that one of her trusted friends had just betrayed her to Sepulture, and an entire legion of undead soldiers were slowly making their way to the small clearing that she and her friends were camped in.

**Author's Note: **Ooooo cliff hanger. Can you guess who the traitor is? Next chapter will be up soon ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **Apologies for the short chapter, but the next one is not finished yet and I felt bad for leaving you guys hanging on a cliff ;) Please R&R, chapter 4 will be up soon!

**The Legacy of a Hero**

**Part One: Genesis**

**Chapter Three**

The four adventurers slept in a small clearing several miles from the town they stopped at the day before, their horses tethered to a tree nearby for the night. It had been a long day, and they had fought harder than they ever had at the bandit camp. That is why they slept soundly even as their camp was being surrounded by a legion of Sepulcher's undead soldiers.

The horses were restless; the undead was making them nervous. Finally, the undead got too close for comfort and Mark's horse reared back and screamed. It tried to run away but it was tethered to a tree and was defenseless against the arrows shot at it to silence it. The horse fell to the ground dead, but the damage had already been done. The four adventurers sprang to their feet half awake to find themselves under attack. "Zeratie no!" Lance screamed, but it was too late. Zeratie charged the undead, twirling her daggers and killing all in her path, but there was too many of them. Violet rushed to the rescue of her friend, chanting a shield spell while Lance threw his hira-shuriken at the undead. Mark covered him, his sword singing as he cut down undead right and left.

The soft blue bubble could be seen around Zeratie, but many undead were inside it with her. Violet was unable to single her out, the undead were pressing in too close. Zeratie cried out in agony as one undead pierced her arm. Violet looked up, ready to cast a spell that would aid her friend, but she was too far away. She franticly slammed her sword into the ground sending out the biggest shockwave she had ever created to annihilate countless undead and clear a path to Zeratie. Violet raced to her friend's side, several spells on her lips but she was too late, Violet watched in horror as an undead soldier lifted its sword high above its head, pointing down on Zeratie's unprotected chest. A large shield connected with her face and she hit the ground slightly dazed. Violet looked up to see an undead soldier wielding an axe in one hand and a shield in the other. It glared down at her has Zeratie's screams were abruptly silenced.

"ZERATIE!" Violet screamed as she slammed her sword into the skull of the undead looming over her. She tried to reach her fallen friend but was overwhelmed by the sheer number of undead pressing in for the kill. Violet flew into a blind rage as cut down soldier after soldier after soldier, trying in vain to see Zeratie, to confirm with her eyes what her heart believed true. She lifted her hand and pointed her palm at the soldiers; three balls of fire flew out at once causing many undead to collapse into a useless pile of bones. Her anger burned so violently that it fed the fireballs, and rather than stopping once they hit one soldier each, they kept going through the lines of undead, burning all they touched. "Violet! There is too many of them! We have to fall back!" Mark shouted. Lance rode up to her on his horse leading Eternal BattleCry, plowing over undead as he reached his friend. Violet sent one last shockwave to meet her surrounding foes before jumping on the back of her horse and riding off, Lance right behind her.

Behind her, Violet heard Lance scream, and then her own joined his. The undead had fired arrows at them, and some found their mark. She glanced behind in time to see Lance and his horse hit the ground looking like a pincushion. She reigned in her horse, jumped off his back and ran to Lance's side, but he was already dead. She hated leaving him here, but there was nothing that could be done. She glanced up to see the undead army charging her. "Mark!" She screamed. Her arm, lower back, and side throbbed where three arrows had pierced her flesh, but she did her best to ignore the pain.

Violet spied Mark sitting on the ground, his back resting against a tree. In one hand he held his sword, in the other the reigns to Zeratie's horse. Four arrows were sticking out of his chest. "Mark no!" She yelled at him as she knelt to his side. "Violet…" He whispered. "…It hurts." "I'm going to get you out of here, don't you dare die on me!" She said as she forced a health potion down his throat before helping him on the horse. She climbed on behind him and slammed her heels into the ribs of her mount while she created a shield to prevent the arrows from harming them any further.

Several minutes later, Violet stopped beside a small stream to tend to their wounds. _I don't have much time, the undead are right behind us! _She thought as she carefully slid Mark to the ground. He moaned in half consciousness as she whispered in his ear. "This is going to hurt." She warned before pulling out the four arrows in his chest. Digging through his backpack she gave him his last health potion and went to work on her own injuries. She cried out in agony as she pulled the arrows out of her flesh, then frowned at the amount of blood flowing from her side. She dug through her own pack only to find that her potions were empty, they had not been refilled since she used them during the attack on the Darkwolf bandit's camp the day before. _I thought Zeratie refilled these! _She thought as she franticly dug deeper in her pack, hoping to find a potion and knowing there wasn't one. She cursed under her breath as she held her side, trying to stop the blood flow.

She cast a small healing spell on her wounds, but it did little due to her lack of strength. Black dots danced in front of her eyes as she struggled to stand. _I have to keep moving._ She managed to lift Mark on to the back of Zeratie's horse, and then realized she lacked the strength to climb up herself. _So tired… _ She thought. Something bumped her back and she whirled around, reaching for her sword only to discover that it wasn't there, she must have left it behind in her haste to get Mark and herself to safety.

Fortunately it was just her horse, Eternal BattleCry that had snuck up behind her, by some miracle he had not been hit with any arrows. Violet smiled weakly when BattleCry lay down on the ground and nudged her leg, encouraging her to climb on his back. She slowly crawled into the saddle and griped his mane as tightly as she could as he stood up, then grabbed the reins of Zeratie's, now Mark's horse, and said. "Ok boy, let's move." Eternal BattleCry trotted across the river and walked toward a trail leading back to the town they came from. "No boy, don't lead the undead there, that town is too small to resist." Her horse stopped and turned his head to look at her. _"Where then?" _His expression seemed to say."Swordhaven." He snorted and turned toward the city, Violet struggling to remain conscious. She took the lead from Mark's horse and tied it to the saddle of her own horse; in case she passed out they would not be separated.

Hours later, Violet could see Swordhaven in the distance. She had drifted in and out of consciousness during the ride, and had applied several minor healing spells to her many wounds. She had managed to stop the bleeding, but she had lost an alarming amount of blood. Violet heard a moan from behind her, and turned in the saddle to look at Mark, wincing as her injuries screamed in protest. "Mark! You're finally awake." She forced a smile has he glanced at her. "Violet? What happened?" He asked before coughing up some blood. Violet frowned at his bloody cough and said. "We were attacked by undead soldiers, both of us have serious injuries and we are out of health potions. We are almost at Swordhaven; we can get medical attention there." Mark looked around. "Where are Lance and Zeratie?" He asked her, she looked away and did not answer, the steady _clop clop _of the horse's hooves the only sound between them. "Violet, where are Lance and Zeratie? Why are they not with us?" Oh how she wanted to lie, to say that their friends were right behind them, they weren't dead, they were still alive. It was just a dream. _Just a dream. Just a dream. _

But it wasn't. "They didn't make it." She said quietly. Mark was quiet for a moment, then. "What?" He asked. "They are dead, Sepulture's soldiers killed them. I tried to save them but…" Violet's shoulders began to shake as tears rolled down her face. "I tried to save them."

"Hey." Mark said as he reached over and rubbed her shoulder. "You did everything you could, we both did." Violet looked up when she heard his shaky voice, and realized he was crying too. "It's my fault they are dead, Sepulture was after me, he didn't care about them. He failed once and now he is trying to fix his mistake." "Don't talk like that." Mark chastised. "But it's true!" "How could he possibly know you are still alive? We haven't done anything worth mentioning except the raid on the bandit camp yesterday, and there is no way on Lore he could have known that was you, then mobilized an army that big in such a short amount of time." He said. "Then how do you explain the attack?" Violet asked. Mark was quiet as he thought. "Maybe they were trying to attack Swordhaven, and we got in the way, I don't know. But the only ones who knew about you was me, Zeratie, and Lance. They wouldn't have betrayed you, and neither will I." Violet looked her friend in the eye and softly said, "Thank you Mark. That means everything to me." "It's the truth." He responded with a crooked smile.

"What brings you to Swordhaven fair adventurers?" Asked a voice. The two turned to see that they had arrived at a guard's outpost just outside the gates of Swordhaven. The voiced belonged to one of several knights guarding the gates. "We seek shelter and medical attention. We were attacked by hundreds of undead soldiers last night; they may or may not be following us here." Mark said loudly, then so soft the knights barely heard him, "Two of our companions died during the attack." Hearing this, the captain immediately started shouting orders to his men, and then turned back to Mark and Violet. "Go inside the city, a medic will meet you there… and thank you for warning us of the undead." Mark nodded and nudged his horse to precede, Violet following suit. Just has the captain had said, a medic was waiting to treat them.

They were finally safe, but for how long?

**Author's Note: **We still don't know who the traitor is, can you guess?


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **Here is the next chapter, enjoy!

**The Legacy of a Hero**

**Part One: Genesis**

**Chapter Four**

**Three Weeks Later**

Violet was in the stables grooming Eternal BattleCry when Mark approached. "How are you holding up?" He asked as he patted her horse. "I feel like I could wrestle a gorrillaphant. It's amazing what six health potions and a lot of rest can do" She answered with a small smile. "You know that's not what I was talking about." He said quietly. Her smile faded. "I'm doing about as well as you can imagine, all things considered." She stopped brushing her horse and laid a hand on his shoulder, as if for support. "What about you?" She asked her friend. "About the same." He replied. They were quiet for several minutes before Mark asked the question they had both been avoiding since they lost their two friends. "So what happens next? We can't stay here forever, living in the inn is a good money drain." "I can't leave this place yet." Violet said quietly. "You can't stay here forever living in fear; if you do then Sepulture will ultimately win." Said Mark. "It's not that, it's just…it will be just the two of us out there, there have been four for so long…" She bit her lip as tears threatened to fall and tried to hold them in, not wanting to appear weak. "Hey." Mark softly grabbed her chin and turned her head so that she was forced to look him in the eye. "Don't bottle up your pain, and don't hold in your tears. Crying is like washing the windows of your heart, it helps you grieve, and eventually heal. You cannot heal until you mourn your loss, accept their absence, and take one step forward. Then you will be ready to move on and continue your life while you are still alive to live it." Mark brushed away a tear with his thumb. "Thank you." She whispered as more tears began to fall. "Come here." He said in a shaky voice as he pulled her into a hug.

Several minutes passed as the two grieved for their fallen comrades. Finally, they broke apart and Violet continued grooming her horse while Mark wiped his eyes. "I really needed that." He said quietly, then trying to change the subject he said, "You need to buy a sword to replace the one you lost." "Actually I was thinking about building one, though I think it will be a scythe, not a sword." "Build one?" He asked, obviously surprised. "How? You know nothing about blacksmithing." "Magic." She said simply. Mark chuckled softly. "I walked right into that one." It was a well known joke around Lore, if something could not be explained then blame it on magic. "All kidding aside, I really will use magic to create my scythe. As long as I have the proper materials, I think I can do it. Besides, if it is created by magic, then it will channel magic far better than any sword would." "Can't you just use a staff or wand like normal mages do?" Mark asked. "Where is the fun in that?" She said with a halfhearted grin.

Mark rolled his eyes at her comment and asked. "What will you use to make it?" "Ebony wood for the snaith, and pure silver for the blades." "Expensive materials." He mused. "Wait, did you say blades? It will have more than one?" "Yes, it will have at least two blades on it, maybe four depending on how much silver I can buy. I chose these materials because they are naturally stronger than regular metal and wood, and besides. Ebony wood looks better than regular wood." She said. Violet stepped back and looked at her horse. His coat shone from his grooming, and satisfied with her work, she put him back in his stall. "I think I will get the materials now, so I can begin constructing my scythe. Do you want to come?" Mark shook his head. "The cook at our inn ran out of honey and promised us free food for the duration of our stay if I went out and got him some from the beehive not to far from here." "Are you sure it's wise to go out there alone?" Violet asked worriedly. Mark waved his hand dismissively. "The knights here finished off the undead that attacked us and bees are not hard to fight. I will be fine so don't you worry." He said in a serious tone. "I will try." She replied softly.

Mark squeezed her hand to offer comfort before taking the reigns of his horse from the stable boy, then mounted and rode off. Violet sighed and went in search of a blacksmith willing to sell her the things she needed to build her scythe.

Back at the room she and Mark were staying in, Violet laid out the wood and silver on her bed and contemplated what her scythe should look like. She was able to get enough silver for four blades like she wanted, but the ebony wood was more expensive than she had first thought. She had just enough gold to buy it, but was now officially broke. Every last gold piece she had earned from clearing out the Darkwolf hideout weeks was now gone. Later she would do some odd quests around town to earn more gold, but for now she wanted to complete her scythe.

Raising her palm, she channeled her magic and chanted a few spells directed at the wood and lumps of silver. They lifted off her bed and floated in mid air a few feet off the ground, each piece spinning slowly. Violet frowned as she concentrated, using magic was a lot harder without some weapon, such as a staff or enchanted sword to help her focus the magic. She concentrated on the silver, and it began to heat up until it was white hot and pliable, she then cast two spells that allowed her to twist and pull the hot metal to her desired shape. Before long, a large yet thin curved blade took shape and she connected it to one end of the long ebony wood pole and fused the two with magic. She reached out and grabbed the snaith of her scythe, then dipped the blade in a bucket of water to cool and strengthen the metal. She pulled it out of the water and examined her work. Satisfied, she leaned her unfinished scythe against the wall then sat down on her bed beside the remaining lumps of silver and grabbed a mana potion from her backpack. _Creating this thing is a lot harder than I imagined it to be. _She thought as she wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead and drank the potion.

Rejuvenated, Violet stood up and repeated the process creating three more blades for her scythe. They were identical to the first blade, though two were noticeably smaller. She magically fused the larger blade to the other end of the scythe, though it pointed in the opposite direction. She then placed one of the smaller blades about two inches beneath each larger blade so that each end of her scythe had two long curved blades. She sat on her bed exhausted and drank her other mana potion wile looking at her scythe. It was perfect…well, almost. Though it looked exactly as she imagined, it seemed to be missing something. _I still have a little bit of silver left over; maybe I can use that for something. _She thought, and then shrugged. _I'm too tired to bother with it now, maybe I can think of something later. _Crawling under the covers she settled in for a nap, using so much magic without something to help her focus had worn her out.

Several hours later, Mark returned to find his friend passed out on her bed, with empty potion bottles on the inn table and a magnificent quad bladed, double ended, black scythe leaning on the wall beside her. Several tiny lumps of silver were scattered across the floor, each no bigger than his thumbnail. Mark reached over and took the scythe from its resting place on the wall and examined it more closely. The blades were dull and lacked the shine that they would have had they been polished and sharpened. Violet was obviously not finished with it, but it still looked impressive and a formidable weapon in the field. He swung the scythe in many ways, carefully watching both ends to see where the blades would go. He quickly discovered that if he brought one end of the scythe in a classic downward cutting fashion, the blades on the other end would quickly rise up and impale imaginary foes with their points. No matter which way he twirled, lunged and twisted the scythe, he was protected on two sides at all times, a valuable asset when surrounded by enemies. He was given a wide circle due to the two sets of blades being so far apart, but this also posed a problem. If someone were to get in just the right position between the blades it would be tricky to kill them, but the wieldier of the scythe would not be left defenseless. Mark parried the attacks from his imaginary foe with the snaith of the scythe, and quickly discovered that in doing so, it brought the blades closer to his enemy where he quickly disposed of it.

Mark leaned the scythe back against the wall, satisfied with his friend's work. _I wouldn't mind having one of those myself in a battle. _He thought as he reached over and took the empty mana bottles. Violet would probably need these to finish her scythe.

Mark returned a few minutes later to find the object of his thoughts awake and examining her scythe with a frown on her face. "Looks good." Mark commented as he set the potions on the inn table beside her bed. "Thank you!" She said, beaming with pride. "I practiced with it a little while you were sleeping; it is well designed and will be very useful in a fight. I almost pity the ones that face you in battle." He told her with a laugh. "You practiced with it?" Violet asked surprised. "How long have you been back?" "Not long." He said with a shrug. "I refilled your mana potions; I thought you might be needing them to finish." "I probably will; it needs something added to it."

Mark reached down and picked up one of the many lumps of silver on the floor. "Does that "something" involve these?" He asked as he held it up. "Probably, though I don't yet know what." She said with a sigh. "I'm sure you will come up with something." Mark said, and then grabbed a broom from the corner of the room. "Maybe some practice will help you think of it." He said. Violet looked up to see her friend wielding a broom like a sword and couldn't help but laugh, the sight was just too funny. Grabbing her scythe she stood up and faced her friend, still giggling. "You won't be laughing when I beat you." He said with a smile. Violet rolled her eyes. "There is no way I am letting a broom wielding noob defeat me." Mark feigned a hurt expression.

"Who are you calling noob?" He asked, then attacked. Violet easily parried and the broom handle smacked against the snaith of her scythe with a loud _crack. _ She twisted the scythe to bring the dull blade up to her friend's chest, but in doing so the broom handle slid down the snaith and rapped her knuckles. "Ouch!" She cried out as she stepped back and examined her hand. "It's a good thing I wasn't using my sword, or you wouldn't have any fingers after that." Mark commented. "How would I stop that from happening in a real battle?" Violet thought out loud. "Maybe if you put these on the snaith in random places to stop the sword from sliding?" Mark asked as he nudged a silver lump with the toe of his boot. "Maybe…" Violet said, deep in thought.

Suddenly, her face brightened. "I have an idea!' She said excitedly. "What if I put curved spikes on the snaith? They would stop a sword or dagger from cutting off my fingers, and would catch the blade in the spikes so if I spin the scythe like this…" Violet spun the scythe as she spoke "…with enough force it would rip the sword out of the wielder's hands leaving him vulnerable!" Mark was quiet as he thought, then said, "But wouldn't the spikes hurt your hands when you fought?" "Not if I space them right, and learn their placement on the snaith so I can avoid them without thinking." Mark nodded, "That would work, and your enemies would not be expecting it so it will be easier to take the sword or dagger from them."

As Mark watched, Violet chanted a few spells and the scythe lifted from her hands and floated horizontally in front of her, then all the tiny lumps of silver lifted off of the floor and slowly spun in orbit around her. Mark remembered Violet telling him why mages would almost always slowly spin something that they lifted with magic. She said the momentum of the spinning object makes it easier to keep it in the air and concentrate on other things at the same time.

The lumps of silver turned white hot as Violet cast a fire spell on them, then one by one she shaped and fused each spike on the scythe. Some curved down, some curved up, and still others were straight to prevent anyone from trying to grab her scythe in battle. Turning toward the bucket of water, she lifted the water out of the bucket and threw it at the scythe. The water sizzled and popped as it hit the hot metal and Violet reached out and plucked her scythe from the air. "Now all that is left is to sharpen and polish the blades." She said with a grin.

_The Next Day_

Violet examined her completed scythe. Each blade and spike, curved or otherwise, was razor sharp and shone in the light. She had decided to use magic to sharpen and polish it rather than a whetstone, simply because it would have been too tedious to do so for every single spike on the scythe. She had also enchanted the scythe with her magic, strengthening the wood, blades, and spikes to such a degree, that it would take a tremendous amount of force to weaken the spells enough to even scratch the scythe, much less damage it in any way. Not even the spells from another mage could damage it; she had tested it earlier that day, asking another mage currently staying in the inn to try. He cast an ice spell at her, but thanks to the enchantments, Violet easily sliced through the wall of ice rushing to meet her and caused a disruption that ended the spell immediately. The mage then proceeded to cast a variety of spells at her consisting of many elements but each one splashed harmlessly across her scythe. Each spell had weakened the enchantment, but only slightly. After thanking the mage for his help it was a simple matter to recast the spells on her scythe, restoring it to its former strength.

Violet walked upstairs and found Mark putting a few final things in his backpack. "It never ceases to amaze me how you can fit several full sized swords in that tiny little backpack." She commented. Mark buckled his backpack shut, slung it over his shoulder and grinned. "Simple. It's because of _magic_." Violet laughed and grabbed Zeratie's backpack. They had found it strapped to her horse shortly after arriving at Swordhaven. "Are you going to go through that?" Mark asked quietly. Violet paused. "Later." She said as she slung it over her shoulder. Mark opened his mouth as if to say something, but then thought better of it and shut his mouth without a word. The two left the inn, saddled their horses and rode out of Swordhaven. Neither knew where they were going, or what they would do once they got there, but each understood that moaping around Swordhaven was not going to bring back their friends. Though they would never forget their comrades, it was time too move on.

Even still, it was many months before Violet stopped crying herself to sleep.

**Author's Note: **For those of you who were disappointed by the lack of action in this chapter, do not worry, it is just the calm before the storm… Also, I drew a picture of Violet's scythe using Gimp and posted it on my website if you would like to see it. The next chapter is almost finished but because it's so long *glances at the 16 page chapter in Word* I will probably break it up into 2 - 4 chapters. Please R&R!


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **Here is chapter 5 and its action packed. Hope you guys like it!

**The Legacy of a Hero**

**Part One: Genesis**

**Chapter Five**

**One Year Later**

Violet and Mark had just gotten paid for clearing out a woman's garden from the tusk mongers eating her vegetables. Ever since their two friends, Lance and Zeratie had been killed by Sepulture's undead minions a year earlier, their life had been like this. They rode into a town, stayed a few nights in the inn and completed random quests before moving on to the next town and repeating the mundane cycle. Their life lacked excitement and purpose, yet neither knew how to fix it.

After eating supper in the inn, Mark announced that he was going to bed. Though it was late, Violet did not join him. Instead, she went outside and practiced fighting with her scythe by the light of the full moon. It had taken her months to get used to the spikes on her scythe; her hands still bore the scars from where the long, cruel spikes had pierced her palms and come out the back of her hands wile self training. Now however, she was a master at wielding the scythe. No blade, dagger, spell, or spear could pierce her defenses with a single try, and she was far too quick to allow her foes a second opportunity.

She was also a powerful mage now. Several months earlier, Violet had bought a spell book and had been studying it ever since. Simple spells such as healing and calling on the power of the elements were now longer difficult to cast, and she was quickly learning many new spells such as transportation, wake, telepathy, and the rare ability to pass through solid matter, such as a closed door or a solid wall. Along with that, she had fully earned the title "warrior mage" that her friends had given her years ago. Whereas before she would cast spells in a battle and only use her sword when the enemies got too close, thanks to some heavy training from Mark, Violet was just as comfortable wielding any kind of sword or axe in battle without relying on magic to aide her. Though she preferred to wield her scythe instead of a sword, and did not hesitate to dip into her vast arsenal of deadly spells.

As the moon bathed her in its soft glow, Violet slaughtered her imaginary enemies. Twisting, twirling, and slicing, her foes all fell one by one until she was left alone. Panting, she placed her scythe in her backpack and leaned against a tree to gaze at the stars. She normally would cast fire or energy spells on her scythe, so that the flames or lighting, depending on the spell, would dance along the blades during a fight. Trying to be quiet, she did not do so in this practice fight.

After what seemed like hours, she shook her heard to clear her thoughts and wiped a tear from her eye. It still pained her to think of those she had lost. Her Grandmother, parents, Mithria, Arya, Lance, and Zeratie. Thanks to Sepulture, everyone she had ever loved was dead, except for Mark. Violet touched the scar on her belly and remembered the vow she made two days after Sepulture stabbed her in the stomach in an almost successful attempt to kill her. _"I swear on my Grandmother's grave Sepulture will pay." _She had said, and she meant it. As of yet her vow had gone unfulfilled, and she was tired of hiding, constantly looking over her shoulder and living in fear that Sepulture would take what little she had left, her life included. _I am not ready to face him yet, he is far too powerful. But soon. Soon I will be strong enough to end this, and then I can find my dragon. _Violet thought as she turned and went inside the inn.

She entered the room she and Mark were sharing to find him fast asleep on his bed. She walked over to the opposite side of the room where her bed was located and sat down. The moon provided a dim light, lengthening the shadows and giving the room an eerie feel to it. She laid in her bed for over an hour trying in vain to sleep, before she finally gave up. Crawling out from under the covers she sifted through her backpack absentmindedly, making sure everything was in order to kill some time. While doing so, she came across Zeratie's old backpack. Violet remembered that she had put it away, the memories of her friend still to fresh and painful in her mind to go through her friend's things.

Violet sat on her bed and held Zeratie's backpack in her hands, the moon illuminating the worn leather. She hesitated, then unbuckled the straps and opened the backpack. Peering inside, she saw several items and proceeded to pull them out one by one. There were two mana potions, one health potion, and an empty bottle that she supposed once contained the second health potion. Violet pulled out several throwing daggers and was unsurprised at the large number of them; Zeratie always seemed to have an endless supply of the things. There was a well used whetstone, and several strips of rolled up cloth that could be used as a bandage. Violet pulled out a small cloth bag that jingled when she shook it. _It must have gold inside. _She thought. Once more Violet reached inside the backpack and found something unexpected, a folded up letter.

Curious, Violet opened it and scanned its contents. What she found there made her blood run cold. She set it down beside her and buried her head in her hands. After several deep breaths she shock began to wear off, and Violet was left feeling as though her heart had been ripped right out of her chest. A cold and frighteningly calm anger set in, and Violet grabbed her scythe and left the room without a sound, leaving the note on her bed. She walked to the stables, saddled her horse, and rode out of town in a mad gallop.

That morning, Mark woke up and looked over at his friend's bed to discover her absence. From across the room he could see Zeratie's backpack open with its contents strewn over Violet's bed. Thinking she needed time to deal with the painful memories that seeing those items had brought to the surface, Mark went downstairs to eat breakfast and wait for Violet. _She is probably in the barn with Eternal BattleCry. _He thought.

Violet encouraged more speed from her horse as they raced through the forest, weaving between trees and missing them with barely enough room to spare. Eternal BattleCry was covered in sweat and foam flew from his mouth. They had been going at full speed all morning long and it was now past midday yet they did not slow. Violet held her scythe in one hand; the other gripped her horse's neck, fingernails digging into his flesh as she fed him enough energy to keep moving. Normally, a horse could only run all out for a few minutes with a rider, but by feeding him energy Violet was able to keep BattleCry running all day, though it was taking its toll on them both yet they did not stop. Both mana potions were long gone and the empty bottles discarded along the trail, she was now taking energy from the enchantments on her scythe to keep her horse moving. She knew it was a dangerous and stupid move to do so, but she did not care. They were almost there.

Almost there.

Mark returned from the barn and raced up the stairs to the room they were renting. Hours passed and he had begun to worry about Violet, so he went to the barn to comfort her only to find that both she and her horse were long gone. Mark burst through the door, and raced to Violet's side of the room, hoping to find a clue to where she had gone. _Her backpack is still here, so is her spell book so she must be planning to return. _ He thought as he rummaged through her things. There was also Zeratie's backpack and its contents scattered throughout the bed. He quickly looked them over hoping for a clue as to where his friend had gone; there was an empty health potion, some throwing daggers, and… a letter? Curious, he opened it and began to read.

They were finally here. Violet dismounted her horse and walked to the edge of a cliff. Looking down, she could see a small town in the valley. Using a spell to enhance her vision, she spied on the town while her horse grabbed a much needed rest, she too was tired but she ignored her fatigue. There would be time for rest later, but now she needed to plan. Time was of the essence, Violet had to make sure _she_ was here before she made her move. For the next several hours, Violet lay on her belly and watched the town's movements.

The letter fell from Mark's grasp as he sat on Violet's bed, stunned. _I don't believe this, after everything… _He thought in shock. _That's where Violet went; she is going to kill her._

It was time. Night had fallen and the town was quiet. Violet's horse was still tired from the day's run, but was rested just enough to aide her in this battle. She mounted and turned BattleCry down the hill toward a trail that would lead them to the southern gate. _I did not start this, but I sure as hell am going to finish it. _She though as her horse navigated through the shadowy forest. It was pitch black under the canopy of trees, the light of the stars and moon unable to provide their light. Violet approached the edge of the forest and reined in her horse. She reached up and pulled down the hood to her cloak so that it hid her face, only her lavender eyes could be seen as they appeared to glow from under the darkness of her hood. _It is time. _She thought as she tightly gripped her scythe.

Mark punched the wall as hard as he could, causing the wood to splinter and blood to trickle from his knuckles but he did not notice. Angrily he got up and left the room as the letter slowly floated to the floor to rest in a small patch of moonlight, the words facing up as if to taunt him.

_Zeratie, your message came as an unpleasant surprise; she was supposed to have died long ago. Nevertheless, actions are being put into motion that will tie up this loose end. Return to your hometown and await further orders, your payment will be waiting for you there._

_-Sepulture_

Violet focused on the northern watchtower, chanting a spell and with a crackling roar it burst into black flames, killing all inside and setting nearby houses on fire. _"Friends until the end." Zeratie said. The end has now come. _ Violet thought coldly as she dug her heels into her horse, spurring him into action. She could hear screaming from inside the city walls as the towns folk were rudely awakened to find their town under attack. As she approached the southern gate, Violet waved her hand and chanted a spell causing the large wooden gate to creak open allowing her passage. When through the gate, she hit the lever with her scythe and the gate clanged shut behind her, then pointed her scarred palm to the wall surrounding the town and focused her dark energy, causing the wall to erupt in black flames just like the tower. She then directed the flames to race along the wall, ensuring that the entire town, Zeratie included, was trapped inside. Violet heard explosions as the flames leapt from the wall and consumed the remaining watchtowers and surrounding houses. Anyone fool enough to get too close was consumed as well.

Rushing down the main road toward her was a large group of knights in shimmering armor. Violet counted thirty eight of them before BattleCry charged into their midst rearing and crushing the knights with his massive hooves. Blood dripped from her scythe as she clung to his back, swinging her scythe in a whirlwind of death, dark energy dancing along the blades. _Seventeen down, twenty more to go. _She thought to herself. _I must end this quickly before Zeratie has a chance to escape. _As Eternal BattleCry reared up and crashed his hooves on an unfortunate knight, a black shockwave hit the remaining knights, sending them flying back several yards and killing them instantly. The surrounding houses were also hit, and ignited in a dark fire.

She charged further into town, BattleCry carrying her toward the center where she remembered Zeratie saying her house was located. Violet created a rippling wake of dark energy, causing death and destruction to everything and everyone in its path. She stole a glance behind her and smiled, satisfied with what she saw. It looked as if her horse was a mighty warship, moving through the waters, but instead of leaving a wake of white and blue water that harmlessly bounced off of everything it touched; her wake was black and destructive. Everything it touched, man, beast, and building alike, exploded in dark energy, leaving whatever was left to burn in the same sickly black flame that was rapidly consuming the town. Though she had studied this spell in her book, this was the first time she had tried it and had been uncertain if it would work. She felt a sense of pride seeing that it did. She stuck out her tongue and caught falling ash and embers on it, like a child would catch snowflakes in winter. _So this is what victory tastes like. _She thought coldly.

Arriving at Zeratie's house, Violet dismounted as the object of her rage exited her home. "I was going to call your name in greeting, but then I remembered you don't have one." Zeratie taunted. Ignoring the comment, Violet shouted, "I trusted and loved you Zeratie, you were like a sister to me!" Zeratie smiled "And I loved you too as a sister, but unfortunately, gold runs thicker than blood, and Sepulture paid a grand sum to turn you in." "How could you do that, after everything we went through together?" "I told you, gold runs thicker than blood. Being the one destined to bond with the egg inside the dragon box, Sepulture was eager to get you out of the way for much…. bigger plans." "You told him that I still lived, you betrayed us all and because of you Lance is dead!" Zeratie shrugged. "It's not like anyone will miss the little brat." Violet's blood boiled at the comment as she narrowed her eyes. "I'll kill you for that." She hissed before casting a dark ball of energy at the woman she once called friend, but Zeratie jumped out of the way and unsheathed her two poisoned daggers before charging. Violet easily parried the attacks with her scythe; one of the daggers slipped into a curved spike on the snaith then with a masterful twist Violet wrenched the dagger from the traitor's hand and sent it sailing through the air to land in the dust several yards away. Zeratie screamed in anger before attempting to cut Violet's shoulder, both combatants knowing that even a small cut would be fatal due to the poison the daggers were dipped in.

Anticipating this, Violet twisted the bottom of the scythe upward, catching the dagger in another one of its curved spikes. Completing the spin, Zeratie's second dagger joined the first. Before her former friend could react, Violet grabbed her scythe with both hands, raised it above her head, and crashed the bottom blade down upon Zeratie's head. The blade easily cut through skin, muscle, and bone, and then hit the ground with a dull thud as the two halves that once made up Zeratie fell to the ground on either side of Violet. She stood, blood dripping from both blades on either side of her scythe, and looked around. The town was ablaze with the black fire, only a few houses remained. Before long, those houses would burn as well; even now one of them caught on fire and turned black as the flames consumed it.

Violet watched the town burn as tears fell from her eyes. She hated that she was crying over Lance's murder. Zeratie was a traitor and deserved what she got. But, she was also her friend, and for that reason she didn't bother to wipe her tears away. Eternal BattleCry walked toward her and gently nudged her with his nose. The woman buried her face in his soft mane and cried, mourning the loss of her grandmother, parents, friends, home, and now Zeratie, her surrogate sister. _I am alone now. _ She thought sadly, and then looked up at the stars. _No I'm not, I still have Mark…. Mark! _She though with a jolt. _I left him at the inn without telling him of the letter. _Violet shook her head as she slowly walked to one of the few houses left unburned. _I should not have done that, I need to return and hope he will understand. _

Hearing a sound coming from the other side of the house, she walked around it to investigate. A young boy, maybe three or four years old, sat cowering in fear against the side of the house. She raised her scythe to deliver the killing blow, and the child cringed. "Please don't kill me." He whimpered. Violet hesitated, she should not let him live, leaving a witness was foolish and dangerous. After a moment of indecision, Violet sighed and lowered her scythe. She cast a sleep spell and a forgetting spell on the child then knelt beside him and laid her hand on his forehead. "You will not die by my hand." She whispered to him as he slept. It didn't matter the circumstance, she could never bring herself to directly kill a child, though why she did not know. She carried him in her arms, and mounted BattleCry, the sleeping boy riding double in front of her. Thanks to the forgetting spell, he would not remember the horrors of this night. As they galloped away, Violet cast a shield around herself, the boy, and Eternal BattleCry so that the black fires would not harm them.

Several hours later, she rode up to a small farmhouse. It was almost dawn, and the sky was starting to light up as she approached the house. A man came outside, and through the windows she could see a woman and three small children looking at her suspiciously. _The farmer's wife and children._ She thought absentmindedly. Violet rode up to the porch where the farmer stood, and threw the still sleeping boy off of her horse; though she placed a cushioning spell on the ground so the boy would have a soft landing. Without a word, she turned her horse away from the house and galloped off in the direction of the town Mark was in, disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

_Two Days Later_

Violet approached the town she and Mark had stayed in before she galloped off four nights ago. She hesitated when she approached the town's entrance, uncertain. _What will Mark think when he reads the letter? What will he say when I tell him I killed Zeratie? Is he still here? Did he leave this town thinking I abandoned him? _Her fears were ungrounded as she slowly approached the stable to the inn. Fearful of what she would find. Violet entered and looked to the stall where Mark had been keeping his horse. She let out a breath of relief when she saw that the animal was still there. Handing the reigns of her own horse to the stable boy, Violet left the stable and entered the inn. Sitting at the farthest table from the door, was Mark.

Violet slowly walked over to his table and sat down without a word. Mark placed the letter in front of her and asked. "You killed her didn't you?" He looked up at her, but she refused to look him in the eye. Instead she glanced down at her scarred hands and answered. "Yes." Mark got up and left the table without another word. Violet winced as the door quietly closed behind him, somehow this would be easier if he had slammed the door on his exit. Violet went up to their room to clean her scythe and wait for Mark to calm down.

_Several Days Later_

Violet sat on her bed studying her spell book, but it was hard to concentrate. She kept thinking about Mark. The two had not spoken since she told him about Zeratie. Despite the hole that was left in her heart by both the actions of herself and her former friend, Violet was not sorry about what she did. Okay, maybe destroying the entire town was not a good idea, but she felt no remorse. Closing the spell book, Violet focused on the closed door to her room that led to the hallway of the inn. Chanting a spell, she walked to the door and stretched out her hand as if to touch the wood, but her hand passed _through _the door, rather than stopping once it hit the solid door. Grinning, Violet walked through the door and almost bumped into Mark.

"I see you finally figured out how to do that. Took you long enough." He said. Violet's smile faded at her friend's comment. True, it had taken her over a year to get it right but coming from her last living friend that comment had really stung. Mark ran a hand through his tangled hair. "Look, I'm sorry; I should not have said that." He apologized. "It's just…" Though Mark never finished his sentence, Violet knew what he meant. "Mark." Violet said softly. When he looked up she continued. "We need to talk." The two quietly walked into their room and closed the door.

Sitting on his bed across from Violet's, Mark asked. "What is on your mind?" Violet hesitated before answering. "I'm leaving." Mark was silent for a moment, then "Okay, let me get my things…" "No." Violet interrupted. She looked him in the eye and said "You're not coming with me." Mark sat in shock, and then he realized what she was planning. "You are going to fight Sepulture aren't you?" Violet winced; he had correctly guessed her plan faster than she anticipated. Mark crossed his arms and looked at his friend. "What makes you think I will let you go alone? He will kill you Violet, you are no where near strong enough to face him." Violet stood and began to pace the room as everything came out in a rush. "I'm tired of always running and hiding and worrying and looking over my shoulder because of him! He has taken everything from me! He burned my home, slaughtered my family, turned my friends against me, and came dangerously close to taking my life on two occasions!" She stopped pacing and looked at Mark. "You are the only thing I have left; I will not lose you too."

Mark got up and wrapped his arms around his friend. "Violet, what kind of friend would I be if I let you fight him alone?" He asked her softly. "A friend that is alive." She shot back. "Nothing lives forever Violet; even the stars in the night sky reach the end of their lives and fade away." "You don't understand!" Violet shouted as she pushed him away. "The nightmares that I have been having since before we attacked the bandit camp near Swordhaven, they were of you." She was crying now. "Every night for almost two years I have watched you die! Each dream is different, different locations and situations but the end is always the same. Sepulture kills you and I am powerless to stop it. If you come with me he will kill you for real, I just know it!" Violet sat on her bed and buried her head in her hands, sobbing.

Mark stood in silence, shocked at what his friend had just told him. After several moments a shook his head as if to clear it then said "The future is not set in stone Violet." "Then why do the dreams keep returning?" She asked. Mark sat down beside her and wrapped his arm around her. "I do not know." He said softly. The two friends sat on the bed each drawing strength from the other for what seemed like hours before Violet broke the silence. "You are not coming."

"Yes I am."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am and that's the end of it!" Violet opened her mouth to protest but Mark placed a hand over her mouth and said "Violet, if a great elemental dragon destroyed my town and I said that I was going to hunt down and slay it, you would demand to come with me would you not?" She nodded. "Then why would you assume that I would do otherwise for you?" He removed his hand from her mouth and she said so quietly he almost didn't hear. "I can't lose you too." Mark kissed her forehead. "You won't." He said softly.

"Now, how are we going to find Sepulture?" He asked. Violet was quiet, trying to think of a way she could convince her friend to stay behind. "I know what you are thinking, and it won't work, I'm just as stubborn as you are." He said with a smile, and then repeated his question. Violet sighed, realizing that there was nothing she could say to convince her friend to stay behind and part of her not wanting him to. Though she would never admit it, the thought of going up against Sepulture scarred her. Having her best friend watching her back was very comforting.

Then Violet said "I know how we can find him."

**Author's Note: **Ooooo this is a nice place for a cliff hanger… but lucky for you I'm posting chapter 6 as well. ;) Please R&R!


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **Here it is! Just like I promised. ;)

**The Legacy of a Hero**

**Part One: Genesis**

**Chapter Six**

_Two Months Later_

Violet sat against a tree studying her spell book by the light of the campfire Mark built earlier. Feeling the chill of the winter air, she scooted closer to the flames before testing the telepathic spell she had just learned about. She closed her eyes and formed a mental picture of Mark in her mind, then chanted the words. "Caros gratos madoc-letoc." She said. _"Can you hear me?" _She mentally asked her friend. Silence. Opening her eyes she looked at Mark who was sitting across the fire from her roasting a marsh mellow. "Was that supposed to do something?" He asked not unkindly. Violet frowned. "It was a telepathic spell; you were supposed to hear my voice in your head. "That's kind of creepy Violet." He said jokingly. Violet sighed and went back to studying her book to see what she did wrong. _Ah! Caros _nrectos_, not caros _gratos_. _She thought.

Closing her eyes, she tried again. "Caros nrectos madoc-letoc." She said out loud. _"Mark?" _"Ahh!" Mark shouted. Violet's eyes snapped open and her hand instinctively went to her scythe. "You scarred me for a moment." Mark said sheepishly. Violet laughed. _"Really? That's kinda funny." _She sent. "Does this thing work two ways?" Mark asked her. _"Yes, form a mental picture of me, and then think of something, anything. Direct those thought to the picture and I will hear them." _Violet sent to him. _"I dropped my marsh mellow in the fire." _Said a Mark sounding voice in her head. Violet laughed. "You heard me?" He asked in shock. "Yes." She answered. "So will this work all the time now?" Marks asked her. "No, a mage has to start the spell in order for it to work, then when he or she ends it you can no longer speak with them." "How will I know if the spell is active or not?" Suddenly, Mark felt a… other… in his mind leave. He didn't even notice it was there until it left. "That's how." Violet said. "Now that you know what to look for, you will feel the spell begin before I speak to you." "Now that is cool, and useful. I have a feeling we will be using it a lot soon." He looked up at the half moon shining down on them.

"It is time." He said. Without a word, Violet closed her spell book and placed it in her backpack while Mark threw water on their campfire. The two mounted their horses and rode off into the dark forest.

For almost an hour they rode at a swift trot, neither saying a word until Mark reined in his horse to a stop and said. "We are almost there, you should get ready." He told Violet. "We should leave the horses here… just in case." She said. The two shared a knowing look; each understood that they may not return from this quest. Mark nodded and they dismounted, then continued forward on foot. He grabbed Violet's hand as she cast an invisibility spell on them, then felt the same… other… as before entering his mind. _"Violet?" "Yea, it's me." _She assured him.

For several minutes the two walked in silence. _"Today is the anniversary." _Violet sent Mark. _"To what?" "To the attack on my town. It happened eight years ago today." _Mark squeezed her hand in comfort as the two approached their destination.

The two friends entered a small clearing where a several undead gryphons were hitched to large baskets full of supplies. About thirty or so Darkwolf bandits were almost finished loading them. _"Interesting… the Darkwolf bandits are working with Sepulture." _Mark sent. _"The question is, why?" _Violet sent back. She could feel movement in his arm that could have been a shrug.

Up above, Sepulture's castle rested on the back of the biggest dracolich Violet had ever seen. She knew it had to be massive to carry an entire castle on its back and still fly, but to actually see it was breathtaking. While the two adventures stood gaping at the dracolich flying above them, the Darkwolf bandits finished loading the baskets and the undead gryphons took off. Mark cursed under his breath as he ran toward the nearest one, practically dragging Violet behind him. They jumped as high as they could, grabbing on to the sides of the basket. The sudden addition of weight caused the gryphon to almost fall back to the earth but managed to recover, the basket swinging wildly underneath it. Violet almost lost her grip, but fortunately Mark was there to help her climb into the now overfull basket. Settling back to back, their weapons drawn and resting in their laps, the two friends began to mentally prepare for the coming fight as the flying dracolich grew ever larger as they drew near.

The undead gryphons landed on a small platform near the base of the castle, and countless undead rushed forward to begin unloading the baskets. Still invisible, the two friends tiptoed past them and entered the castle in search of Sepulture.

Hours past with no such luck, to say this castle was massive was an understatement. Tired from walking for so long, Violet sent to Mark _"Lets stop for a quick rest, my feet are aching from walking for so long." _ Agreeing, Mark leaned against a wall and sat down, Violet following his lead. They rested for several minutes and just as Mark was going to suggest they continue, they heard someone coming. The sound was lacking the steady _clank clank_ of an undead's boots hitting the floor, so they knew it could not be one of them. Double checking the invisibility spell she cast earlier, Violet stood up and gripped her scythe tighter, beside her she could hear Mark swiftly move to the other side of the hallway in order to surround the intruder if it came to a fight. She doubted it was Sepulture; the footsteps were far to light to be him, but still. _Better to be paranoid than dead_. She thought as she crouched in the shadows, but neither one was prepared for who rounded the corner.

It was a woman, heavy with child. She wore a blood red dress, the same color as her hair, and an emerald necklace that matched her startling green eyes. Hanging from her waist was a sword in a black sheath with a red hilt. Her face was deathly pale, and her cheekbones jutted out from her face. It was obvious that she was very sick, probably dying. One hand rested on her belly, as if to protect the child within, the other on the hilt of her sword, as if she expected an attack. _"It's unlikely that she would pose a real threat in battle, as sick as she is." _Violet thought to her friend as the red haired stranger passed. _"Looks can be deceiving."_He cautioned. _ "Maybe after we finish with Sepulture we can find out who she is."_With this in mind, the two turned in the direction the strange yet beautiful woman had come from, and continued their search for Sepulture.

After more unsuccessful wandering, the two rounded a corner to find countless undead guarding two big wooden doors. _"Do you think he is in there?" _Violet asked. _"Why else would that many undead guard the door? Even if he is not, something important is."__"Good point." _They slowly walked forward, being careful not to get too close to the guards as they approached the twin doors. Using the spell that allowed her to walk through walls, Violet moved through the think doors, pulling Mark with her, and found herself in a large throne room. Sitting on his throne was the man responsible for her suffering. Sepulture.

One hand was resting on the hilt of his sword, the same one she realized, that he had used to try to kill her when she was a child, the blade that could speak. Kneeling in front of Sepulture was Dracath, the leader of the Darkwolf bandits. Though she had never seen him in person, she recognized him from the "wanted" posters circulation Lore and brief descriptions Zeratie had given her. They were speaking, but she was too far away and could not understand what they were saying. Still holding Mark's hand, she slowly crept closer, their voices growing from soft mummers to understandable words.

"Very well." Sepulture said. "If you bring me both dragon boxes I will grant your request." _"BOTH dragon boxes! There are two of them?"_Remembering her grandmother's dying words, Violet sent to Mark. "_Did she know there are two dragons?" "If she knew wouldn't she have told you?"_He sent back. _"How will I know which dragon I am supposed to have?" _"Thank you my Lord." Dracath said, interrupting their conversation. "I will not fail you." "See that you don't." Sepulture said ominously. "Dismissed." He told Dracath with a wave of his hand. Dracath bowed, then turned and swept out the door.

Now was their chance. The two adventurers silently walked over to where Sepulture sat, Violet putting all thoughts of the dragon boxes out of her mind. _I can look into that later, for now I have more important matters at hand. _She thought to herself. "HAHAHAHA! IT SEEMS SOMEONE HAS BEEN EAVESDROPPING ON OUR PLANS!" Sepulture's blade laughed. "I am aware of their presence." Sepulture replied, looking directly at the two intruders. Violet checked to see if her invisibility spell was still in place. It was. _"How is he doing that?" _Mark sent, obviously alarmed._ "I have no idea."_She answered, the worry evident in her voice. "This time I will make sure you die. Nothing will interfere with the master's plans." Sepulture said, rising from his throne.

"_He has a master?"_

"_He would have to be very powerful to control Sepulture. We may be in over our heads." _

"_You are just _now _saying that?"_

"_Thanks for the vote of confidence."_

Violet ended the invisibility spell; it obviously was not fooling Sepulture for a yet unknown reason and said, "Twice you have failed to kill me, what makes you so sure you will succeed now?" _"Get ready." _She sent Mark. "Because your feeble skills are no match for the power of a Doom Knight, I will crush you like an insect and I will enjoy watching your life fade away." Sepulture lifted his talking blade and said, "There will be so little of you left all the necromancers in Lore will not be able to bring you back." With a mighty swing the blood red blade sliced through the air to be intercepted by Violet's scythe. "That is where you are wrong." She hissed from across their crossed blades. "No matter what it takes, my soul will not rest until your life blood is spilled." Though she could not see his face due to his helmet, Violet could feel Sepulture's cold gaze boring into her, if looks could kill she would be dead right now. The two combatants broke apart and with Mark fighting by her side, Violet attacked Sepulture with everything she had.

The fight had begun.

**Author's Note: **I decided to rewrite the fight with Sepulture, which is why this chapter ends here. I felt the fight could be much longer and more intense than what I originally wrote, so I'm going back to add to it. You guys will thank me later, trust me ;)


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **Well, here is the next chapter! I rewrote this several times, Sepulture being the main villain in DragonFable he isn't a very easy character to write about, especially since we see so little of him in the game so I really hope you guys like this. :) Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes that strange woman is Gravelyn's mother and the wife of Sepulture. I wrote her as having green eyes under the assumption that Sepulture has blue like Gravelyn does, since we have never seen Sepulture's face before I modeled the mother after the child with the eye color being the only exception. I figured she needed to inherit _some _looks from daddy even if we don't know exactly what they are. ;) If we ever see his face in-game I will change that part of the story to fit.

**The Legacy of a Hero**

**Part One: Genesis**

**Chapter Seven**

Mark ducked as Sepulture attempted to sever his head from his shoulders while Violet cast an icy spell at Sepulture, but missed as he stepped back to avoid the cold blast. Swinging her scythe Violet aimed for the only unprotected flesh of her foe, the lower half of his face. Sepulture raised his blade and steel clashed against wood with a loud _crack _as Mark aimed for his neck. Sepulture's blade was caught in one of the many curved spikes on Violet's scythe and he could not intercept Mark's blade with his own so he raised his arm and deflected the blow on his gauntlets. Then with a mighty shove he pushed Violet back, causing her to lose her balance as Sepulture freed his blade and pressed his attack, not giving her the chance to regain her footing.

Mark rushed to the aid of his friend and Sepulture was forced to abandon his attack on Violet to parry the wild swings of her ally. Now recovered, Violet cast a spell sending a mighty wind crashing into Sepulture before charging, the blades on her scythe hissing through the air and joining the sweet singing of Mark's sword as the clash of steel against steel and steel against wood added their song, creating a complex orchestra of deadly music.

Despite being outnumbered, Sepulture was more than capable of holding his own. As Violet aimed for the kill, Sepulture dodged rather than blocked her attack then sent his blade on a colliding path with her side. Seeing this coming, she swirled her scythe to intercept his attack but was not prepared for the strength of his swing. The impact of the colliding weapons forced the scythe from her grip as the wrist was twisted at an odd angle and one if the straight spikes punctured her cloth robe and bit into her arm. Her scythe clattered to the floor as blood dripped from her arm and Sepulture turned toward her friend. In three swift moves, he blocked Mark's attack, feigned up then cut down piercing the armor and drawing blood in his leg, then with a final slash with his sword Sepulture disarmed him, the sword clattering to the floor.

He had effectively disarmed both his attackers and drawn blood from each a matter of minutes. But the fight was far from over. Sepulture raised his blade to deliver the final strike to Mark but his blade crashed on a blue arcane shield suddenly erected over him by Violet. Using her good arm she grabbed her scythe and with the other she hastily drank a health potion as Sepulture turned to face her. Behind him Mark drank a health potion as well to heal his leg as he quietly stood and grabbed his sword. Sepulture attacked in a frenzy of blows so fast Violet struggled to block in time. She had always prided herself in her speed, but against Sepulture she was barely fast enough to avoid his attacks.

Mark managed to surprise him, suddenly jumping back into the fight without warning and attacking from behind. He left a long scratch on Sepulture's armor, but it was far too thick to do any real damage. The two attacked him on both sides, moving with the tide of battle and ensuring that one of them stayed behind of Sepulture at all times though it was not easy. Sepulture was forced to keep turning and twisting to avoid their attacks as the three raced around the room, Sepulture trying to maneuver both of his attackers on one side with Violet and Mark struggling to keep up with him.

Behind her, Violet heard the large doors burst open and undead soldiers rushed in. _"As if we didn't have enough problems!" _Violet complained. _"Take care of the undead, I will handle Sepulture." _Mark's voice echoed in her mind as she jumped away from Sepulture and knelt to the ground, facing the soldiers. Sepulture attempted to crash his blade down on her exposed back, but Mark thrust his sword forward and intercepted the attack, preventing Sepulture's blade from tasting her flesh while Violet sent a powerful shockwave that destroyed most of the undead and left bones scattered all throughout the throne room and hallway. She turned around, expecting to see a Sepulture shaped smear on the wall, but was both disappointed and surprised as she barely blocked his next swing.

She parried his blows as the remaining undead solders crept closer then turned and cast black fire on the undead while Mark distracted Sepulture. She raised her scythe as one undead returned the favor, sending an orange ball of flame on a collision course with her chest. The fire danced on her scythe before slowly fading away and Violet frowned as sliced the undead into a useless pile of bones. Normally the fire would have evaporated immediately, but instead it took several precious seconds for it to dissipate. She checked her enchantments as she raced back to where Mark and Sepulture were locked in deadly combat and realized with horror that every encounter her scythe made with Sepulture's talking blade drained an alarming amount of energy leaving her scythe, and through it her, venerable.

"Lectic Ungras Indro Shoken Wavthic!" She shouted as she pointed her palm at Sepulture's feet. The floor beneath him erupted sending him crashing into the wall behind him.

Now he was mad.

Sepulture slowly rose, shaking in fury. He lifted his blade, and then crashed it down into the floor sending three skull demons racing toward the two adventurers, a red wake trailing behind them. Violet quickly cast a shield around herself and Mark then lifted her scythe in front of her to provide more protection but it was still not enough. The three skull demons crashed into her shields sending the two flying. Violet slammed into a nearby column, while Mark vanished into the now deserted hallway.

Struggling to her feet, Violet realized with growing alarm that the enchantments in her scythe were almost gone, very little remained. Mark moaned from the hallway and Violet painfully rushed to his side, Sepulture right behind her. "Mark!" She cried out when she saw her friend. He lay in the middle of the hallway, covered in his own blood. Violet had been protected by much of the blast that slipped through her shields by her scythe, but Mark had no such protection and as a result he had been crushed by the blow. Kneeling by his side Violet heard footsteps coming ever closer. Glancing up she saw Sepulture racing toward them, his red blade lifted high for the kill. She grabbed Mark with one hand and her scythe with the other as she quickly chanted. "Throughus Floortic!" Just as Sepulture reached his targets, the floor around them rippled and they sunk down vanishing from sight.

They fell from the ceiling above and crashed to the ground one floor below. Violet quickly dragged her friend out of sight behind a column and dug though her backpack for a health potion, her muscles screaming in protest. To her horror, she found only broken bottles. Each of her remaining potions had been broken and their precious contents spilled in her backpack either from the skull demons or their crash to the floor she did not know, maybe it was both. She then dug through Mark's backpack with the same result.

Desperate, she examined her friend's fatal wounds and tried to heal them. "Healthic!" She cried out. But his wounds refused to heal; the deep gashes in his chest had been poisoned by the skull demons and would not respond to her spells and she lacked the knowledge to cure the poison. Red energy, a result of the wake danced along his wounds has Violet tried in vain to save her friend.

"Violet." He said weakly. "Get the hell out of here, you cannot beat him. Run while you still can." "I won't leave you!" She said angrily. Angry at Mark for insisting that he come. Angry at Sepulture for killing him. Angry at herself for not being able to save him. Mark weakly grabbed her hand and attempted to speak, but he coughed instead, spraying blood everywhere. He gave his friend a blood covered smile as if to encourage her, before his grip on her hand loosened and his life faded to the land of the dead.

"Nooooo!" She cried out as she shook her friend, at if to wake him from sleep. She hugged his body as a mother would her child while salty tears raced down her face. Several undead soldiers raced past her hiding place, Sepulture walking behind them shouting orders. "Search this castle until she is found! Do NOT let her escape again!" The undead rushed to follow his orders without a word. Then Sepulture quietly said. "She cannot hide forever, soon she will die and no one will dare rise against us."

Trembling in anger Violet quietly rose, and gripped her scythe. Peeking around the corner of the column, she saw Sepulture walk past continuing his search. "This is for Mark!" She shouted as she jumped out from her hiding place and cast a ball of dark energy towards Sepulture's unprotected back. He whiled around at the sound of her voice, but didn't have enough time to block her attack. It hit him square in the chest and he was sent flying against the wall, cracks spreading through it from the impact. "This is for my family!" She shouted as she sent another blast of black energy at him, but Sepulture was ready this time. He raised his blade and intercepted the blast, the energy splashing harmlessly along his blade, the attack not even knocking him off balance.

He charged her and she met him halfway, swinging her scythe low to cut off his feet, but he jumped over her and landed behind, swinging his blade toward her exposed neck. She rolled out of the way and his blade bit empty air. Completing her roll, Violet stood and swung her scythe toward Sepulture but he stopped her attack by slamming his blade into the snaith of her scythe. The two combatants glared at each other from across their locked weapons, purple eyes meeting blue. The two broke away and steel clashed against wood as the battle raged on.

Stumbling on a bone from a fallen undead soldier, Violet jumped back a few steps to regain her footing but Sepulture pressed the advantage, not giving her time to recover. Violet gave ground hoping to regain her footing to no avail. "This time you do not have your friend to save you!" Sepulture laughed. A support beam above them suddenly burst into black flames as she set it ablaze and brought it crashing down on Sepulture. He was forced to back away to avoid being crushed.

Violet stole the opportunity to turn and flee up a staircase that they had drawn near during the fight. She glanced behind her to in time to see Sepulture leap over the flaming beam and charge after her. Up ahead she could hear more undead soldiers rushing toward her and as she reached the top of the staircase, she created a wake of dark energy and pushed it ahead of her so that it drove a wedge in the lines of soldiers, killing all directly in front of her with her arcane shield leaving her protected as the wake that trailed behind destroyed the rest.

Violet ran through the hallway, her wake wreaking havoc in the castle until she saw a single door at the end, sunlight streaming through it. She ran towards it and found herself on a balcony overlooking Lore, the only way off was the way she came. She collapsed on her hands and knees and tried to catch her breath. She was utterly exhausted. Her scythe was completely drained of energy and with Sepulture being so strong Violet feared that the next blow would shatter it.

Behind her, she could hear his footsteps thundering through the hallway. She jumped out of the doorway and pressed her back against the wall beside it. _How in the name of Zeuster did that man survive the wake?_She thought in alarm. _I can't keep this up much longer._

She readied her scythe, took a deep breath, and when Sepulture burst through the doorway, she swung her scythe and clotheslined him. To normal armor, the spikes on the snaith would have gone through and pierced the flesh within, but Sepulture's was far too thick, it merely scratched his armor and left him flat on his back from the unexpected impact. She raised her scythe, the blade pointing at his exposed face, and brought it down as hard as she could. Sepulture rolled out of the way and the weakened blades slammed into the floor, shattering on impact.

Violet jumped back to avoid the shrapnel and Sepulture stepped in between her and the only door off the balcony. "This is where you die." Sepulture said with an evil smile. She didn't reply. Her dragon amulet began to glow and she eagerly reached for its power. Combining it with the last bit of energy she had left, she lifted her scarred palm and pointed it at Sepulture. In her hand a spear of pure darkness formed. The core was black while the edges of the spear seemed to be ignited in a sickly purple fire. Her gold and red dragon amulet began to shake on its chain as the metal turned black while the red jewel in the center glowed purple as if to match the darkness Violet summoned.

With a mighty cry, she launched the spear at Sepulture, aiming for the kill.

But he had other ideas. Sepulture lifted his blade high and swung it as if slicing an invisible foe in two. A red crescent shaped wave came from the air the blade touched and rushed to meet the black spear. The two forces collided with an ear shattering roar and blinding light then created a shockwave so powerful, it sent both combatants flying. Sepulture slammed into a wall with such force, that he almost went through it, a large hole with cracks spreading away from it formed around him as he collapsed to his knees, his sword falling out of his hand.

Violet however, was not so lucky. The impact hit her with such force she slammed against the metal railing of the balcony and broke it along with several ribs. She would have fallen from the castle had her cloak not gotten caught on one of the sharp edges of the broken railing. Black dots danced before her eyes as she struggled to catch her breath and remain conscious while a splitting headache filled her mind and her entire body seemed to scream in agony. Hearing the sound of her cloak tearing, she weakly reached out to grab the edge of the balcony but her fingers refused to obey her commands to grab on. Violet looked down to see what was left of her scythe fall to the earth and shatter against the rocks at the edge of a forest far below. The dracolich lazily flew past and the remains of her beloved scythe were forever lost, the forest stretching out below her.

Unable to hold her any longer, her cloak tore with a loud ripping sound and Violet fell from the castle to the rapidly approaching ground. She tried to slow her fall, or at least cushion the ground with her spells but she was simply too weak. She crashed through the trees, breaking several branches and bones before hitting the ground with a dull _thud._ She struggled to remain conscious, but the effort proved too much. The last thing she saw was the massive dracolich passing from view as it flew toward its destination, and her torn cloak slowly drifting down like a leaf in autumn.

**Author's Note: **Whew! That took longer than I expected to write! I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter; this was definitely the hardest so far to write. As to why Violet was able to predict Mark's death almost two years in advance and why her DA permanently changed color, all that and more will be explained in a very….interesting…..encounter with the Ancient Dragon of Time. Btw, does he have a name? Please R&R, the next and final chapter of Part 1 will be up as soon as I finish it.

Now where was I? Ahh yes.

"Someone get a medic!" She heard him scream as darkness clouded her vision. Her final thoughts were of Mark. _Will I see him there? What of Grandmother and Lance? Are they waiting for me? _She wondered as darkness overcame her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: **Well, here is the final chapter of Part One. Enjoy!

**The IronRaven xvx: **Don't worry, Violet will not be alone for long, I already have several plans for companions in the future…. ;)

**The Legacy of a Hero**

**Part One: Genesis**

**Chapter Eight**

"_And then she chased him out of her kitchen beating him in the head with a wooden spoon while cake mix flew everywhere!" The boy ninja said, concluding his story. The black haired girl and the other two people sharing a table with him burst out laughing. "By the love of Zeuster that was funny! I can't believe he actually thought putting a live bug in her hair was a good idea." Said the man sitting across from her. He was a warrior, with blond hair, blue eyes, and shining armor. _

"_I know! I would have used a dead bug so it wouldn't fly into the cake batter." Said the woman sitting across from the girl. She was dressed as a Darkwolf bandit though she said that she left them months ago. Her brown eyes danced with laughter as her matching brown hair tried to come out of the short ponytail it was bound in. The boy ninja, with his dirty blonde hair and green eyes, drained his mug in three long gulps and slammed the empty glass on the wooden table. "Wow this stuff is good!" He commented._

_The other three murmured in agreement. After a short, but not uncomfortable silence, the warrior said. "I'm Mark by the way." "Zeratie." Said the bandit, then the ninja spoke. "Lance." He said. The three turned to look at the black haired mage expectantly. She hesitated, then remembered the nickname her Grandmother gave her. "I'm Violet." She said. _

"_So where are you headed?" She asked them. Mark spoke up first. "I really don't know, I've just been wandering around for the past few years trying to earn a name for myself." "I'm looking for pirates, so I can join them but so far I haven't had any luck." Said Lance. "I thought pirates and ninjas hated each other." Zeratie commented. "They do, but I think pirates are cooler so I left my village in search of them." He responded. _

"_I think there is a pirate town called Osprey Cove near Falconreach." Violet offered. "Really!" Lance said excitedly. "I will have to go there and see if they will train me." Then he frowned. "It's awful far though."_

"_What about you girls?" Mark asked. "Where are you headed?" Zeratie shrugged. "No where really." "Same here." Violet said. _

"_Why don't we all travel together to Osprey Cove, that way Lance won't have to go alone." He offered. "You guys would do that?" Lance said hopefully. "I will." Mark said with a grin. Violet found herself smiling as well as she said. "I'm in." Zeratie then said. "Sure, but why stop there? Why don't we explore a bit and see what Lore has to offer us?"_

"_I did want to see the sights a bit before I bought a ship." Lance admitted. "Then it's settled. The four of us versus the world!" Zeratie said with a laugh then she raised her glass. "Friends until the end!" She shouted, earning a few stares from nearby tables. "Until the end!" Mark shouted back as he bumped his glass with Zeratie's. Lance grabbed a mug from the nearest table as his was still empty and shouted. "Friends to the end!" Unable to help herself, Violet lifted her own drink and bumped it with the glasses of her newfound comrades. "Friends to the end!" She shouted. The four took one long gulp from their mugs then slammed them down on the table, not caring when the contents sloshed over the sides of the glass as they erupted in another round of laughter._

The sound of their playful laughs slowly faded as Violet regained consciousness. She slowly opened her eyes and was greeted by the cheerful twinkling of a thousand stars. The cold air bit her fingers and face as her breath came out in a cloud of white. She briefly wondered why she was laying on the ground, until she tried to stand and was rewarded by throbbing pain throughout her body. She collapsed to the ground as the memories of the past day raced through her mind. "Mark." She quietly whispered as she mourned her friend. She remembered the fight with Sepulture and realized that he would probably send a search party to look her, seeing as how she managed twice over to evade his attempts on her life.

Groaning in pain, she rolled over on her belly then sat back on her knees. She stayed that way for a long while, trying to regain enough strength to move on. She looked around, hoping to see a rock or tree that she could use to help her stand but saw two glowing blue mushrooms under a massive oak tree instead. Violet immediately tried to crawl to them, remembering in her spell book that those mushrooms would heal most injuries and restore some mana points as well. Though the plant was only a few feet away from her, it still took several minutes to reach it because her injuries were so painful she had to stop and rest many times.

Finally close enough, she reached out and picked one of the mushrooms then quickly ate it. Sitting with her back against the tree, Violet examined her numerous injuries while waiting for the mushroom's healing to take effect. Her right leg was twisted in an odd angle, and she couldn't move her right arm from the elbow down. Probing her chest with her left arm, she painfully discovered that at least seven ribs were broken in many places, both in thanks to the crash into the balcony railing then hitting several thick tree branches on her way to the ground.

Unless you count all the bruises that were starting to blossom all over, that appeared to be all. Before long, the pain in her leg and arm faded and then was gone as the mushroom knitted her bones together. Her chest didn't hurt nearly as much as it did before, so her ribs must be healing as well. She ate the smaller and final mushroom, taking time to chew it and savor the taste. It tasted like a mix between a blackberry and a sour blueberry, both tart and sweet at the same time.

Suddenly, Violet heard rustling in the forest and the steady _chink clink _of armor. Unsure if it belonged to friend or foe, she reached for her scythe only to find it wasn't there, it had been destroyed in Sepulture's castle. She quickly jumped behind a nearby boulder, still healing ribs screaming in protest.

Violet could hear some rustling on the other side of the boulder and she cautiously peered around the corner. Three undead soldiers examined the blood stain she left on the ground from her fall and talked amongst themselves concerning their next move. As she didn't have a weapon of any kind, and was still slightly injured despite eating the mushrooms Violet decided her best option was to sneak away rather than fight the soldiers.

Slowly and quietly, she stood and walked away. Just as she thought she was in the clear, she stepped on a twig with a loud _snap! _Violet winced and didn't move, praying that the undead didn't hear that but her prayers went unanswered.

Behind her, the undead appeared from behind the boulder and Violet broke into a run. An arrow pierced the tree in front of her as the undead tried to stop her escape but she kept running. Violet raced through the forest, dodging trees and arrows and tried to evade her pursuers. Her two ribs, no longer broken but still fractured, cried out in protest while sharp branches and twigs scratched her face and thorns stretched out their claws to grab and tear her black robe but she did not slow.

Suddenly, she was forced to stop as a massive waterfall blocked her path; the drop down was far and made her dizzy. Violet turned around to see her path guarded by not only the three undead soldiers, but several Darkwolf bandits as well. Seeing no other way out, Violet took a deep breath and stepped closer to the edge.

_One. _She thought as the undead strung their bows.

_Two. _The undead pointed their arrows at her heart and the bandits raised their maces, the cruel silver spikes glittering in the faint dawn light.

_Three. _

Violet heard a soft _twang _when the undead let loose their arrows as she turned and jumped off the cliff into the swirling waters below. By some miracle, no rocks were waiting for her at the bottom. She plunged into the deep icy water, the shock of the cold caused her to gasp but instead of air she swallowed a lungful of water. Struggling to find her way to the surface, Violet clawed at the water and started to panic. She couldn't find her way up!

_Which way is up!_

The current carried her farther away from the waterfall but the swirling waters pushed her down, away from the air she so desperately needed.

Just when she thought she wasn't going to make it, her head burst through the water into the frigid air and she coughed and sputtered, spewing out water and drinking in the winter air.

Without warning the waters pulled her under again as if unwilling to let her live. Violet held her last breath as she struggled, unwilling to die without a fight. As if an answer to her silent challenge, the river slammed her into a rock forcing the precious air from her lungs and dislocating her left shoulder. Breaking the surface again, Violet hungrily breathed in several gulps of air before pushed down a third time. Turning so that her feet pointed toward down with the current Violet rose to the surface again and fought to stay there. She hit another rock, but her knees folded, absorbing the shock of the blow and leaving her unharmed.

As every second passed, Violet became more and more aware of the cold and knew she would freeze to death if she didn't get out of the water and into a warm dry place. The sky was a light pink now, and by its growing light she could see a large log lying across the river, half on the shore and half in the water. Swimming as hard as she could with her one good arm, Violet managed to place herself in the path of the fallen tree and painfully slammed into its rough side. Despite the river's pull and the protests in her shoulder, Violet was able to reach dry land. She collapsed into the cold earth, exhausted.

After several moments, Violet realized that laying here was making her very tired, and she was no longer as cold as she was before despite the low temperature. Struggling to her feet, she slowly started walking. Not knowing or caring where she was going, all that mattered was that she keep moving, knowing that if she fell asleep, she would never wake up.

An hour passed but Violet did not notice.

She was so tired.

So tired.

Dimly she was aware that if she stopped, she would die.

But with every step she took, her will to live faded a little more.

Soon it would be gone.

Like Grandmother was gone.

Like Mithra was gone.

Like Arya was gone.

Like Lance was gone.

Like Zeratie was gone.

Like Mark was gone.

Gone.

Gone.

Gone.

Violet reached another cliff, but this one did not end with water. Far below, sharp rocks waited at the bottom, ready to devour any who should fall. The morning light bathed Violet in its soft, warm glow. _I need to rest. _She thought, eyes closed. A faint smile crossed her face as she thought of sleep. _Just a few minutes. _

"Violet!" Called a familiar voice. Her eyes flew open and searched for the voice that she should not be hearing. Straight ahead, in a cloud of mist, stood Mark. Violet's dragon amulet glowed brightly, casting its purple glow on the scene in approval. "Violet no!" He called. "Mark?" She quietly asked. As suddenly as he appeared, Mark was gone. "Mark!" She screamed, fatigue forgotten. She rushed out to the very edge of the cliff, unaware that the next step would cause her to fall. Just as she began to take that final step, a powerful wind pushed her back. Out of the mist rose a mighty red dragon, yellow eyes gleaming. His massive wings beat the air, causing a powerful wind to stir all around him.

Briefly Violet wondered if it would attack; she would be helpless as she still did not have a weapon. The dragon gave her a passing glance, then placed its head on the edge of the cliff. Before Violet could react a bright red moglin jumped out from behind the dragon's horns and greeted her. "Hiyas!" He said. Without waiting for a reply, he turned back to the dragon and said. "The path is clear Priestess!" Violet looked up in time to see a woman dressed in a white robe with elegant golden trim. Her hood covered much of her face, but her soft dark blue eyes shone through the darkness of her hood like twin candles. In her hands she carried a large black box, with golden trim and a large black and gold dragon's head along the sides.

"Pardon us friend, we are just passing through." She said kindly. The little red moglin followed her through the trees and the two soon disappeared from sight. Turning back to the dragon, Violet noticed that it seemed to be weighing his options. Reaching a decision, he grinned and spoke to her in Draconic. Violet's dragon amulet cast its soft purple glow and she was able to understand his words. "See you in a few years… HA HA HA HA HA HA!" With that, the dragon flapped his great wings and flew off, disappearing from sight.

_What was that about? _Violet couldn't help but wonder. A cold wind blew and she shivered, her wet clothes making her all the colder. She raced after the Priestess and her moglin friend, hoping they might help her get warm, or t least point her in the direction of the nearest town. Her muscles were stiff from the cold and Violet tripped over roots and loose rocks and finally fell on her face, crying out as her dislocated shoulder was jostled by the fall. She slowly stood and saw a small burlap sack a few feet away. Curious, she slowly walked over and picked it up, the bag jingling when she shook it. Looking inside, she saw twenty pieces of gold. Wondering who would leave a bag of gold just lying around in the woods, she placed it in her backpack and continued after the Priestess, though much slower so she wouldn't fall a second time.

She soon caught up with the two and could see them in the distance. "Oh my, who put this carpet in the middle of the forest?" The Priestess asked. _Uh oh. _Violet thought as she saw a gray lump lying in front of the woman. "Oh noes! That is not a carpet Priestess, it is a Gorillaphant!" The large gray gorillaphant stood up and towered over the Priestess, roaring. "I will protect you Priestess!" The brave moglin shouted. He rushed forward only to be kicked by the monster and come crashing through the trees and land at Violet's feet.

Violet looked up to see the gorillaphant take a swing at the woman, but she managed to dodge its attack. She was too far away to prevent the next strike, so Violet grabbed the first solution that came to mind. "I'm really sorry!" She said to the moglin as she kicked him as hard as she could. The moglin sailed through the trees once more and hit the gorillaphant right in the face right as he was about to take another swing at the Priestess. The surprise hit caused the gorillaphant to lose its balance and almost fall to the ground.

Violet grinned as the moglin and the Priestess hid behind a large tree, safe from the attacking monster, but her smile faded when the gorillaphant turned to glare at her. _Good job, now you made it mad. _She thought to herself.

With a loud roar, the gorillaphant charged her. Violet jumped out of the way of its long tusks, but was unable to dodge its fist. A large gray paw slammed into her side and she crashed to the ground several feet away. Stars danced before her eyes and Violet was vaguely aware of the gorillaphant charging. Shaking her head to clear it, she looked up to see the gorillaphant almost upon her.

Violet rolled out of the way, one of its tusks grazing her already injured arm. Her right hand closed around something hard and she swung it at the gorillaphant. It connected with its temple and the monster stumbled back, slightly dazed. Violet looked down and saw she had picked up an unusually straight tree branch. She poured energy into it, creating a very weak but slightly useful staff.

Recovered, the gorillaphant charged a third and final time. A black ball of energy flew from Violet's scarred palm and hit the gorillaphant dead on, but it did not slow. She tried again, but the gorillaphant only increased its speed, it was almost upon her. Desperate, Violet cast a third energy spell and the gorillaphant finally went down, but it was so close and going so fast, it collided with her on its way down.

The pain in her shoulder was so intense, she almost passed out. The Priestess approached with the little red moglin right next to her and helped Violet crawl out from under the gorillaphant's carcass. Teeth chattering Violet apologized for punting the moglin. "I'm really s-s-sorry I p-p-punted you." The moglin grinned. "It's ok; I understand why you did it. The mean gorillaphant would have hurt the Priestess if you hadn't distracted it!" "T-t-thank you." Violet said, grateful that the moglin had forgiven her though she still felt a little guilty.

The Priestess pulled a white blanket out of her backpack and wrapped it around Violet's shoulders. "Poor dear, you're all wet! Why are you walking around like this in the middle of winter?" Violet shrugged and then winced, her left shoulder reminding her that it was still dislocated. "I fell in a river." She said, deciding to leave out the details. Thankfully, the Priestess did not push, instead she asked. "Thank you for saving us brave mage. May I know the name of my hero?"

Hero. At one time Violet longed to be called that, but now the word filled her with hate. From as far back as a little girl, Violet fought for the title, but it had cost her everything.

"I'm not a hero, and I don't have a name." She answered bitterly.

The Priestess then said seven little words that forever changed her life. "That is where you are wrong, **Raven**."

Violet's head snapped up in surprise. "What did you just call me?" She answered, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I called you by your name. You are Raven." Said the Priestess softly. _"Search for the one who gives you your name, she will lead you to your destiny." _Her Grandmother's dying words echoed in her mind as Violet struggled to breathe. _A name! I finally have a name! I am Raven! _

"Who are you?" She asked the woman in white. "And how do you know me?" She smiled warmly. "I am Lady Celestia." She gestured toward the red moglin who was now guarding the black and gold box. "And this is Twilly." The moglin grinned, and Violet, now known as Raven could not help but give him a small smile in return, he seemed to radiate happiness. The woman continued. "I have known you since you were a newborn. It was I who decided that you should hide your name for your own protection. Unfortunately, Sepulchure was far more resourceful than I foresaw. He discovered where you were hidden but I could sense that he did not kill you." "So it's your fault that I lived without a name! Why I was treated like a parasite by my own family! Why they were later killed!" Raven shouted angrily. "They were not your family Raven."

Raven was not ready for that blow and she just stared at Lady Celestia openmouthed. "Your real family was scattered soon after you were born when Sepulchure learned of your birth and came for you." Lady Celestia said. "When I heard that he had discovered where you were hidden I tried to come for you but I was too late. Oh how I searched for you, but..." "STOP! Just stop!" Raven interrupted her, holding her ears to block out her voice. It was just too much, too fast. _Are they still alive? _The thoughts chased each other in her head.

"Raven, listen to me!" Lady Celestia urged, grabbing her arms and forcefully removing Raven's hands from covering her ears. "A great darkness is fighting to destroy Lore and her people. We need you to help us fight it." "Me and my dragon." Lady Celestia nodded. "I see you already know of the prophesy." "Only that I am supposed to bond with a special dragon and become a Dragonlord, or is that a lie too?" Raven retorted. The Priestess sighed. "That is truth, but only in part. There is so much more to the prophecy than that!" The Priestess replied. "Then tell me! I am tired of living in the dark please shed the light of truth in my life!" Raven begged.

"Now is not the time." Lady Celestia replied. "There are things you must learn, obstacles you must face, and trials you must overcome before you are ready to bond with your dragon and learn of the true prophesy." "How will I know when I am ready?" Raven asked. "When you finally hold your baby dragon in your arms, come and see me and I will teach you both. Until then…" Lady Celestia picked up the black box. "…We must part, but we will see each other soon I am sure. Will you please go to Oaklore Keep and let Captain Rolith know we are taking the shortcut?" At Raven's slow nod she turned and left.

Twilly came up to Raven and said. "Don't worry Waven; even though you feel alone, you are not. All of Lore is waiting for you and is ready to stand with you."

Raven bent down and gave the moglin a one-arm hug. "Thank you Twilly. How did you know the words I so needed to hear?" She asked as she fought back a tear. Twilly smiled. "It's the truth." Then Twilly raised his staff, a simple twig with a green leaf on it, and Raven immediately felt the pain in her arm cease. "Thank you again Twilly." She said quietly. Twilly grinned and turned to follow Lady Celestia.

Raven watched as the little moglin disappeared in the trees then walked back to the edge of the cliff, thinking of Mark. _Did I just imagine his voice? Was it just a trick of the light or was he really standing there? _She thought as she gazed at the landscape. Another cold wind blew, reminding Raven that she was still soaking wet. She turned toward the direction Lady Celestia had pointed and walked toward Oaklore Keep, deep in thought.

She was not paying attention to her surroundings, a mistake that would almost cost Raven her life. A Darkwolf bandit had stumbled upon her and remembering his orders, he strung his bow and pointed an arrow at Raven's back. Just as the bandit fired the arrow, Raven sidestepped to avoid a fallen tree branch and the arrow flew past and embedded itself in a large tree directly in front of where she had stood a heartbeat ago.

Surprised, Raven whirled around and threw her makeshift staff at the bandit like she would a spear, hitting him in the stomach and forcing the air from his lungs. He dropped to his knees, momentarily stunned but not before he fired a second arrow, this one tasting flesh.

Raven cried out in shock and pain as the arrow pierced her side. Seeing a strange substance coating the arrow, Raven looked closer before she turned and ran toward Oaklore as fast as she could.

She recognized the poison as the same kind Zeratie used on her daggers and she knew she only had minutes to live, already she could feel the poison spreading through her body and the black dots that were starting to become a familiar sight started their dance. The white blanket fell from her shoulders and Raven could now see Oaklore through the trees.

She burst through the gates and collapsed at the feet of the nearest knight, her breath gasping out in a frosty fog. The knight wore a helmet and she could not see his face, but he knelt by her side and seeing the arrow, called for a medic.

Raven stared up at the knight and managed to gasp out. "The arrow…is poisoned…Darkwolf…bandits, must speak…to Rolith…the Priestess…in danger." She struggled to stay alive, but the pull of the darkness was too strong.

"Someone get a medic!" She heard the knight scream as darkness clouded her vision. Her final thoughts were of Mark. _Will I see him there? What of Grandmother and Lance? Are they waiting for me? _She wondered as darkness overcame her.

_**The End**_

**Author's Note: **Well, that's the end of Part One! I hope you guys enjoyed the ride; I had so much fun writing this story. Finally Raven has her name! You don't know how many times I typed "Raven" in the story then had to go back and change it to "Violet". I'm going to make a few small edits in the chapters, mostly spelling mistakes that I missed, then post this story as completed! I'm so excited about that.

Just so you know what to look for, Part Two is going to center around Raven finding her dragon, but if you think it's just going to be my version of her going to Robina, then Valencia, then Warlic to get the egg…you are in for a big surprise! It will also set the stage for all hell to break loose in an epic climax for Part Three, where the fire war will take place as well as an encounter with the Ancient Dragon of Time that will be so horrifying…

Raven never recovers from it… *cure eerie music*


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